GEOWTH OF THE LOBSTEE. 79: 



movements of Lobsters can be easily studied in the shallow cars in which they are kept fo 

 market, providing there are not too many of them, as the bottom of the car should not be coverec 

 Their actions appear easy and graceful, and their swimming powers may be tested by dippin: 

 them out with a scoop-net and allowing them to fall back again. If allowed to fall in tail foremosi 

 a gentle flap or two of the tail is sufficient to give the body the proper slope in the water so tha 

 in sinking it falls obliquely and reaches bottom by a more gradual motion than would be the cas 

 if it fell directly downward. During the downward movement the tail may or may not be kept ii 

 motion. But in case the specimen is thrown in head first or sidewise, if it be in good, livel; 

 condition, it may give several vigorous flaps of the tail to right itself, and even swim off in on^ 

 direction or another for a distance of several feet before settling down as in the former case. As i 

 rule, however, the Lobster must be regarded as a bottom animal, exercising its power of swimmini 

 only in cases of emergency. 



We have made the above remarks to correct the current impression among many people tha 

 the Lobster is a free swimmer and moves about in schools like many species of fish. For thi 

 belief there is no foundation in fact. 



Gbowth, shedding, etc. — Soft-shelled Lobsters occur at all seasons of the ybar, but appea 

 to be much less common in the winter than in the summer. The period of their greatest abundance 

 is from June to September or October. Tlhere is, therefore, no strictly defined shedding period 

 and no possibility of determining, from present data, how often Lobsters shed. The shedding i 

 connected with the growth of the individual, and when the body has attained such an increasec 

 volume that the hard covering or shell can no longer contain it, the lattetbreaks open, and thi 

 Lobster comes forth in a soft state, and considerably enlarged. The possibility, therefore, exist 

 that in good feeding regions Lobsters may shed more frequently than in poor ones, for in thi 

 former it is natural to suppose that the growth would be more rapid than in the latter. Absolutel; 

 nothing is known, however, regarding this fact, and we must await future observations befon 

 generalizing. During the younger stages,.8hedding goes on quite rapidly, but as the Lobste 

 increases in age it is probable that the shedding periods become much less frequent, and in ver; 

 old individuals may cease altogether. There is, however, no conclusive evidence to prove tha 

 Lobsters ever attain a limit in size beyond which there is no further growth. Large individual 

 are occasionally taken with a very thick and heavy shell so scarred and worn as to indicate i 

 prolonged and severe service. At times, the edges and angles of the shell and the exposec 

 prominences of the claws are completely worn away. Large Barnacles are often found upon th( 

 shells of large Lobsters, and this fact is frequently cited as evidence that the Lobster had cease( 

 shedding, or at least had not shed for several seasons. But after having examined the slatei 

 used by the United States Fish .Commission as collectors for oyster spat, in Chesapeake Bay, ii 

 1880, the writer can no longer regard this proof as very convincing. In the course of a month o: 

 two the common Barnacle of that region, a species of Balanus, which had attached itself to th( 

 slates in much greater abundance than the oysters, had attained a diameter of nearly an inch anc 

 gave promise of growing much larger in a short space of time. 



The process of shedding is very interesting, and has been frequently witnessed, although i 

 has never been minutely described by a competent observer. The following account has beei 

 furnished us by Mr. S. M. Johnson, of Boston. As a preliminary, the carapax generally, but b;; 

 no means always, splits lengthwise along the middle of the back, often with a clean cut, quite t( 

 the rostrum. Otherwise, the carapax merely separates widely from the abdomen, on the uppe: 

 side. The abdominal segments are the first to be withdrawn from their hard investment, ' am 



' This is contrary to what happens in the fresh- water Cray-fish. 



