SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 113 



and more conclusive plan would have been to allow the 

 eggs to Hatch and then keep the whole of the series of 

 adnlt females alive, till they extruded another batch of 

 eggs. The lobsters killed in the early pai;t of the experi- 

 ment had little opportunity to produce again, and none 

 were alive to extrude eggs at the end of one complete year. 



The fact that one of Cunningham's batch of lobsters 

 produced eggs a few weeks after the previous lot had 

 hatched, and the further evidence obtained at Piel, shows 

 quite clearly that the views held by Ehrenbaum and 

 Fullarton are erroneous. If it be possible for the 

 European lobster to extrude another series of eggs within 

 a short period after the previous eggs hatch, there appears 

 to be no anatomical reason why the American lobster 

 cannot also do the same. The difference between the 

 European and American lobster is very slight. 



The conclusion which is forced upon one regarding the 

 spawning and moulting, then, is that a female lobster 

 may, and does occasionally, produce eggs for two years at 

 least in succession, without moulting, possibly for a 

 longer period, and that moulting, after the animal lias 

 become reproductive only occurs at intervals which will 

 no doubt depend largely upon the various factors 

 influencing the condition of the creature. 



