EEPEODUOTION OF THE LOBSTER. 



791 



appears that the first year the Lobster sheds his shell six times, the second year six times, thi 

 third year four times, and the fourth year three times. 



" The following table shows the rate of growth in a Lobster after each shedding of its shell 



Repkoduction — General remarks. — Comparatively little has yet been made knowi 

 regarding the reproduction of the American Lobster and the habits of the female during th( 

 spawning season. This is very unfortunate, considering the important bearing of all sucl 

 information upon the question of the artificial breeding of Lobsters, which, if it is feasible, ma; 

 ere long have to be undertaken in order to replenish our already diminished supplies. Man; 

 obstacles have been mentioned as standing in the way of such an enterprise, but from thi 

 favorable beginnings already made in Europe, as well as in this country, we are inclined fa 

 believe it will terminate successfully. 



Most of our larger crustaceans, including the Lobster and common Crabs, although livini 

 mainly upon the bottom when adult, have free-swimming young, which, as soon as they leave thi 

 egg, and for a more or less prolonged period, lead a very erratic life. ISTot only, however, do thi 

 habits of the young generally differ very widely from those of the adults, but the- appearance an( 

 structure of the two are as widely unlike. As described under " shedding," the Lobster grow 

 by a series of molts. A molting or shedding of the skin indicates that the animal has growi 

 too large for its inelastic outer coat. 'Now, the very young, or the larvae, as they are sometime 

 called, grow in the same manner as the adults. When the higher crustaceans first leave the egg 

 they are very unlike the parent, having a very much simpler structure and often resembling on 

 of the lower groups of crustaceans. The larva of the Lobster, for instance, is somewhat simila 

 in structure and appearance to one of the simplest groups of Shrimps, the so-called Schizopods. 



The free-swimming habits of the young furnish some of the most serious obstacles to th 

 breeding of Lobsters. The embryos, after hatching, rise to the surface of the water, where the; 

 spend much of their time, and are borne hither and thither at the mercy of the currents, beiui 

 often carried beyond the favorable influences necessary to their development. In many Lobste 

 regions along our coast, in calm and clear weather, large quantities of the young may be dippei 

 from the surface of the water, in the eddies and smooth streaks formed by the meeting of tida 

 currents. In these quiet spots the varied minute animal life characterizing the upper strata c 

 the sea are collected together in the same manner as bits of wood and clusters of seaweed, whicl 

 from their larger size, are more familiar to the dwellers upon our coast. In stormy weather thi 

 surface life descends, in greater part, to lowef levels. This vagrant life of the young Lobster 

 exposes them to the attacks of all kinds of predaceous surface-feeding animals, which oonsum 

 them in immense numbers. In this manner a great mortality occurs — a much greater on( 

 undoubtedly, than would arise did the young remain upon the bottom, where they could find som 

 shelter and protection from their enemies. The means of caring for and protecting these way war 

 young should be the first consideration of the would-be Lobster-breeder, and in this matter he wi 

 probably encounter his greatest diflBculties. The length of time required for the young to attai 



