93 



NOTE on a LOESTEK-HATCHEKY, 

 By Professor Herdman. 



At the end of the year, I visited the Lobster hatchery 

 established recently by the Fishery Board for Scotland at 

 Brodick, in the Island of Arran, and of which I had heard 

 from Dr. Fulton, the Scientific Secretary to the Board. 

 The shore between tide marks at the spot is rocky, and 

 the hatchery is a very simple modification of a natural 

 creek. The sides and floor of the creek have been to 

 some extent levelled and smoothed, and a concrete sea- 

 wall about two feet thick has been built at each end so as 

 to make a rectangular vivarium about 60 ft. by 20. This 

 is roofed in with galvanized wire netting of 1J inch mesh 

 set in iron frames each 9 ft. by 18 in. At each extremity 

 of the roof two adjacent frames are hinged so as to form 

 doors which can be raised to give access to the interior. 

 The depth is rather greater at the lower than at the upper 

 end on account of the natural slope of the creek, but there 

 is on the average about 5 ft. of water in the vivarium at 

 low tide. The lower concrete wall is penetrated at its 

 base by a 4 inch iron escape pipe, with a wooden plug : 

 through this pipe the place can be emptied when required. 



On the floor of the vivarium are scattered some boul- 

 ders and stones with growing sea-weed to afford shelter, 

 and some large draining tiles have been found specially 

 useful for this purpose, as the lobsters seem to like hiding 

 in the cavities of the tiles. The lobsters live well, flourish, 

 and reproduce in the vivarium, and they require no looking 

 after except that a supply of food consisting of old fish — any 



