SPAWNING HABITS. 79' 



expanded with their contents, and therefore we must always expect to find spawn in some stag^ 

 of development within the adult female, whether she is carrying external spawn or not. Thi 

 statement will serve to explain to Iqbstermen the fact, which they often regard with somi 

 surprise, of females carrying both internal and external spawn at the same time, the former, o 

 course, far less developed than the latter. 



The mature ovaries form two elongate lobes of considerable size, on the upper side of th( 

 body, just within the shell, and immediately before spawning Lobsters are considered to be ii 

 very good, if not the best, condition for eating ; it is probable also that at about this stage thi 

 spawn first attracts the attention of most fishermen. 



Habitats while spawning. — Nothing definite seems to be known regarding the haunt 

 of spawning Lobsters, or as to whether they change their ground at such times. It is probabL 

 that, to some extent, they do prefer certain localities for this purpose ; but as Lobsters wit! 

 spawn are taken by the fishermen in their traps at all seasons of the year, and in all depths, thii 

 rule cannot, by any means, be regarded as universal. By assuming that certain regions are mor( 

 favorable for the development and hatching of the eggs, we can readily explain the great prepon 

 derance of female Lobsters with spawn on the sandy shores about Provincetown, Cape Cod 

 during the summer months. Yet, in direct contrast with this region stands nearly the entir( 

 coast of Maine, rocky in the extreme, where Lobsters are even more abundant, and where the: 

 probably reproduce in equal proportions. 



Size of spawning- Lobsters. — Lobsters do not generally begin to spawn until they hav( 

 attained a length of about ten and a half to eleven inches (exclusive of the claws), which is abou 

 the legal size of marketable Lobsters. We are informed by several correspondents, however 

 that spawning Lobsters have been taken as small as eight, nine, and ten inches; but such as thes( 

 are very rare. It is probable that they become mature at a smaller size at the South than a 

 the North, as Lobsters average smaller in Southern New England than in Northern Nev 

 England, and yet the age may average the same in both cases. Mr. S. M. Johnson, of Boston 

 who has handled many thousands of Lobsters, states that he has never seen from east o 

 Cape Cod more than two or three specimens bearing spawn under ten and a half inches. H( 

 thinks that but few begin to spawn much under eleven inches in length, and this size, in hi! 

 opinion, would be the proper limit below which none should be sold in order to fully protect th( 

 species. 



Pairing. — So far as we are aware, no one has ever witnessed the operation of pairing ii 

 Lobsters, and all that we know concerning it is mere conjecture. Many of the female Lobsters 

 obtained from sandy bottoms, as at Provincetown, Cape Cod, are said, by observers, to have the 

 carapax more or less abraded along the top, and also somewhat worn over a limited area upoi 

 the sides. This has led the fishermen to believe that, in pairing, the female Lobster lies upon he: 

 back with the male on top, clasping her about the carapax with his claws. While in thii 

 position any strong agitation of the water by the waves in slight depths would probably caus( 

 the pairs to oscillate backward and forward, and might account for the abraded carapaces o 

 the female, which are said to be of common occurrence. This story has been told us by severa 

 reliable parties, entirely independent of one another; but we cannot say how much reliance 

 should be placed upon it, and the evidence is certainly very slight. 



A large New York dealer in Cray-fishes, who keeps large quantities of these lobster-like 

 crustaceans on hand during their season, says that he has frequently witnessed them pairing, an( 

 that the males and females come together belly to belly, with the claws of one tightly clasping 

 those of the other, and spread out so as to form with the bodies a rude Y-shaped figure. 



