272 Second Annual Report of the 



Tomcod. 



On February 29, 1912, Foreman Walters reported that the 

 tomcod eggs were in the jars sixty-one days at Cold Spring Har- 

 bor before they hatched. These eggs usually hatch in from twenty- 

 seven to thirty-five days. The delay was due to extremely cold 

 weather. 



Blue Crab. 



In Doctor Hay's paper "A Life History of the Blue Crab," it 

 is stated that three years are probably required for the young crab 

 to attain its frdl growth. The young shed the shell twice each 

 summer before they reach full size. In Chesapeake bay, Dr. Hay 

 thinks it probable that the growth of the young crab is more 

 rapid, and that it may reach its full size in two seasons at most. 

 At Crisneld, Md., the spring catch, beginning in May, contains 

 great numbers of small crabs from 1% to 2 inches across. In 

 June they have reached 3 inches, and in July 4 inches. In 

 August and September most of the females have reached a breadth 

 of 5 inches and are mature and ready for mating. Dr. Hay stares 

 that this gradual increase in the size of individuals taken does not 

 prove such a rapid growth as the previous statement might indi- 

 cate. The duration of life of the crab after it has reached 

 maturity is not positively known, but it has been given as seven 

 years. 



Very large individuals of the common edible crab are found 

 in Shinnecock Bay; but it is reported that they are becoming 

 scarce. Foreman Walters has liberated many adults at the end 

 of August in Cold Spring Harbor which were carrying great num- 

 bers of eggs nearly ready to hatch. Some of the eggs, under a 

 magnifying glass, showed the embrj^o moving very distinctly. 



Cyclops. 

 In the early spring of 1912, Mr. E. S. Casselman, at Lake 

 Delaware, found Cyclops very abundant in the lake, and found it 

 to be excellent food for trout fry. He collected this crustacean 

 through the water supply in the hatchery in considerable quantities 

 while the water taken near the ice had a temperature of 35 de- 

 grees Fahr. He found that by dropping a pipe and taking water 

 from the bottom of the lake in a dense growth of grass he could 

 obtain immense numbers of Cyclops. 



