Oct. m, 1887. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



269 



seems to me that this is just the place for a party to spend 

 a few weeks during' the fishing season, as it is very ac- 

 cessible and by no means an expensive trip from say 

 Ottawa, However, I hope to be able to write more fully 

 on the subject after my next visit, 



Walter Greaves. 



Ottawa, Oct. IT. 



The Vermont Trout Season.— I noticed in the For- 

 est and Stream of Sept. 29 an article taken from your 

 paper in which you say, "Some years ago C. F. Orvis, of 

 Manchester, and others interested iu trout fishing in the 

 western part of this State, took ground before the legis- 

 lative committee in favor of closing the open season for 

 trout the 1st of August." That is a great mistake, and I 

 wish you would correct it, as I do not wish to be on record 

 as advocating what appears to me to be a very foolish 

 idea; I have always urged extending the open season for 

 trout until at least the 15th of September. In 1883 I was 

 requested to draft a new law by one of our Fish Commis- 

 sioners, who wrote me he knew very little about the 

 matter, which statement I believe was true then and now. 

 He invited me to meet Mm at Montpelier, to confer with 

 him and go before fche committee. I went to Montpelier, 

 but found the Commissioner w as in Boston, and no one 

 appeared to know whether he wotdd ever come back or 

 not. I then endeavored to go before the committee, but 

 they did not meet while I was there. I left in proper 

 hands a draft of a bill from whi h I now quote as follows: 

 "Amend Section 8,87& page 751 Revised Statutes of 1880, 

 fourth line, in place of 'first day' to read fifteenth day." 

 That does not look much like August 1st, does it? Mr. 

 Editor, you must have forgotten a long argument I had 

 with you on this very point, in which I endeavored to 

 prove to you that no trout in a natural state ever spawn 

 before Oct. 1 in Vermont, and I urged very strongly the 

 extension of the open season to Sept. 15. The fact that 

 the trout have spawn in them in August only proves that 

 fact, and nothing more. Many people suppose because 

 they see trout in schools in August, that it is for spawn- 

 ing purposes. That is a mistake. If it is necessary I can 

 show by the best authorities on the subject that I am 

 correct. My own observations have extended over forty 

 years. I once took great interest in the fish and game 

 laws of this state, hoping some good results would come 

 from them, but I must say that I believe nearly all the 

 legislation has been a damage instead of an advantage, 

 so far as trout are concerned. Now, Mr. Editor, please 

 put me right before the public in this matter, and let me 

 say again: extend the open season for trout to at least 

 Sept. 15; cut off the first half of May, if you choose; re- 

 peal the "obnoxious posting law"; make a law against 

 selling or purchasing trout under 5in. long, and establish 

 a State hatching house.— C. F. Orvis in Montpelier Argus 

 and Patriot. 



Messrs. S. Alecook & Co., of Eedditch, have been 

 awarded the first order of merit for their exhibit of fish 

 hooks, fishing rods and fishing tackle at the Adelaide 

 Jubilee Exhibition. 



Address all commimicaUons to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co 



LOBSTER CULTURE. 



BY R. RATHBTJN. 

 (Concluded from page 250.) 



LOBSTERS are. found with spawn attached to the 

 abdomen during the entire year. This fact is recorded 

 of both the American and European species, hut the length 

 of time they are carried before hatching and the limits of 

 the hatching season are not precisely known. As regards 

 the European crayfish, a fresh-water crustacean, closely re- 

 lated to the lobster. Professor Huxley states: "The process 

 of development is very slow, as it occupies the whole winter. 

 In late springtime or early summer the young 'burst the 

 thin shell of the egg, and, when they are hatched, present a 

 general resemblance to their parents. This is very unlike 

 what takes place in crabs and lobsters, in which the young 

 leave the egg in a condition very different from the parent, 

 and undergo a remarkable metamorphosis before they attain 

 their proper form." 



The smackmen of the southern New England coast claim 

 that the eggs hatch iu the wells of their smacks in the 



Greatest abundance, from some time in May until late in 

 uly, but that at other seasons they have never seen any 

 embryo lobsters, although the smack trade in lobsters is 

 kept up during nearly the entire year. During the season 

 mentioned the surface of the water in the wells of the 

 smacks often becomes perfectly alive with the young, and 

 they may be scooped up by the hundreds of thousands. 

 This evidence is tolerably conclusive as to the duration of 

 the principal season, and determines the period when ex- 

 perimental work in artificial propagation can best be under- 

 taken. The fact that a few of the eggs contained in the jars 

 at the Wood's Holl station of the Fish Commission hatched 

 during November of this year, indicates, however, that some 

 hatching may take place at other seasons, as the conditions 

 under which the eggs were kept were perfectly normal, the 

 water being of about the same temperature at that of the 

 harbor outside. Hatching is supposed to begin somewhat 

 later further north. 



The writer was, at first, inclined to believe that the hatch- 

 ing continued to a considerable extent through the entire 

 year, basins his conclusions upon the fact that, during the 

 months of August and September last, eggs were found in 

 various stages of development, from the fresh-laid and 

 totally opaque ones to others in which the dark greenish 

 yelk sack occupied scarcely more than one-half of the area 

 of the egg, the remainder being transparent and clearly 

 showing the structure of the embryo. Some of these eggs 

 preserved in the hatching jars were carefully examined from 

 day to day, and although they exhibited a certain amount 

 of progress, development was slow. It finally became evi- 

 dent that the development of the eggs was being retarded 

 by some cause, presumably the lower temperature of the 

 water, and this result, coupled with the statements of the 

 fishermen, that embryos are seen only in May, June and 

 July, makes it probable that the hatching of lobster eggs at 

 other seasons is only an accidental or occasional occurrence. 

 It is also not at all improbable that the young hatched dur- 

 ing cold weather perish soon after they leave the egg, as 

 they did at Wood's Holl in November last. 



The hardy character of the lobster eggs, before referred to, 

 favors the 'idea of a long period of development, and they 

 appear to be well adapted t o endure the hardships of a long 



the swimmerets of the parent by predaceous fishes, and that 

 the chief assistance which artificial culture can give, in an 

 attempt to increase the supply, must be directed toward 

 protecting the embryos from the period of hatching. 



Embryo lobsters are seldom seen at the surface in the open 

 waters about our coast, and have rarely been taken in the 

 towing net. Prof. S. L Smith, who has studied the younger 

 stages, obtained hi.s specimens during July, mainly in Vine- 

 yawl Sound, near Wood's Holl, Mass. Nothing positive is 

 known respecting the habits of lobsters during the spawning 

 season. It has been stated with reference to lobsters mar- 

 keted in Boston, that berried lobsters are seldom seen meas- 

 uring less than about 10>fin. in length, and it is probable 

 that they rarely begin to spawn before attaining that size. 

 However, a few smaller ones were observed at Wood's Holl 

 during the summer of 1885, In a lot of fifty-two berried 

 lobsters, examined at that place in September," three meas- 

 ured less than 10in., the smallest having been 93*>in. long; 

 eight Were between 10 and 10}^in. ; ten between 10}.,' and llin. • 

 fifteen between 11 and lain.; eleven between 12 and 13iu., and 

 five between 13 and 14in. The measurements were made 

 from the tip of the rostrum to the end of the telson, not in- 

 cluding the hairs. 



The development Of the younger stages of lobsters has 

 been studied by Prof. S. I. Smith for the American species 

 and by Prof. G. 0. Sars for the European. The eggs, when 

 first emitted, are entirely opaque, and of a dark green color, 

 sometimes almost black. Prof. Smith examined the well- 

 advanced eggs at Wood's Holl in May. They were not per- 

 fectly round, measuring a trifle more than two millimeters 

 (about one-twelfth of an inch) in their longest diameter. 

 One side was still dark, due to the unabsorbed yelk mass, 

 and the other more or less transparent, showing the eyes as 

 two large black spots and the outlines of the carapax and 

 legs. All of these features are. readily made out under a 

 low-power objective. Soon after hatching they measure 

 about one-third of an inch in length, and resemble in appear- 

 ance and structure a low group of shrimp, called the schizo- 

 pods, which are common on some portions of our coast. The 

 eyes are bright blue, while portions of the body and its 

 appendages are marked with orange of different intensities, 

 rendering them very conspicuous objects. The swimmerets 

 are not yet developed. In the second stage, which resembles 

 the first, they have increased somewhat in size, and have 

 obtained the rudiments of a portion of the swimmerets. In 

 the third stage they measure about, half an inch long, and 

 the shell has become firmer than before. In the next and 

 last stage observed, the embryo is about three-fifths of an 

 inch long; it has lost all of the characters in which it re- 

 sembles the schizopods, and has assumed the more import- 

 ant features of the adult. It still retains the free-swimming 

 habit, and is very active in its movements, frequently jump- 

 ing out of the water bj r means of its caudal appendages. 

 This stage was frequently taken from the 8th to the 20th of 

 July, and Prof. Smith thinks that the larva passes through 

 all of these stages in the course of a single season. The 

 stages immediately following the above were not observed. 



The young, like the adult lobster and the crabs, increase in 

 size by moulting or casting off the shell covering the body, 

 a new shell rapidly forming in place of the old one. During 

 the first season, as above described, the molts are frequent 

 and the embryos remain at the surface of the water as free 

 swimmers, but how long the young, after reaching the 

 lobster-like form, retain this free swimming habit was not 

 ascertained. As the lobsters increase in size it is evident 

 that molting occurs less frequently and in the adults prob- 

 ably only once a year. 



The rate of growth of lobsters has not been determined, 

 and at present we have no means of telling the age of a lob- 

 ster measuring loin, iu length. A few measurements have 

 been made, showing the amount of increase at certain molts, 

 but it is not always - constant, even for lobsters of the same 

 size, and not knowing the frequency of molting or shedding 

 we have no way of computing the rate of increase. One 

 lobster measuring 8in. before shedding was said to measure 

 lOin. after shedding; another lOin. before and 12in. after 

 shedding; a third lO^in. before and ll%in. after shedding; a 

 fourth lOXin. before and 12in. after shedding. Ten-inch 

 lobsters are probably at least five or six years old, but such 

 estimates are only the result of guess-work and may be very 

 far out of the way. 



In the United States the only practical attempts that have 

 yet been made toward the artificial propagation of lobsters 

 have been in connection with the so-called "parking" of 

 lobsters— that is to say, their protection in large inclosed 

 natural basins, primarily for the purpose of protecting them 

 for market, ana of retaining conveniently at hand at all 

 seasons a large reserve stock. In these parks the young lob- 

 sters taken by the fishermen are allowed to attain adult size, 

 the soft-shelled individuals to become hardened, and injuries 

 to be repaired. Under such natural conditions, it is reason- 

 able to suppose that the breeding habits would continue 

 normal, andthat large quantities of spawn would be hatched; 

 but whether the young would survive, and increase in suffi- 

 cient numbers to render the scheme profitable, if carried on 

 for this purpose alone, has not been determined, though 

 none of the projects had been continued long enough to give 

 satisfactory results at last accounts. Two such parks in the 

 United States have been specially called to our attention. 

 The first was established on the coast of Massachusetts m 

 1872, and was afterward abandoned, though for what reasons 

 we do not know. The second was started in 1879 or 1880 on 

 the coast of Maine, and is, we believe, still in operation. 



The latter is a small inclosed bay, with a narrow entrance, 

 through which the passage of all objects above a very small 

 size is prevented by a screen of wire netting. The bay had 

 previously furnished good lobst r fishing, and was much re- 

 sorted to by fishermen. It contains an abundance of food 

 suitable for lobsters, and toward the center has sufficient 

 depth of water with soft bottom, to afford some protection 

 to the lobsters during the colder part of the year. Into this 

 park large quantities of soft-shelled lobsters, of lobsters 

 minus one or both claws, as well as of y r oung individuals 

 under the legal size of 10 or 10)^in.. have been placed for 

 growth and repair, and it is claimed that the results have 

 been very satisfactory in that particular. At the beginning 

 of cold weather the lobsters retire to the deeper parts of the 

 bay, and at times when the water has been calm and clear, 

 they have been observed almost completely buried in the 

 mud, with onlv thin feelers, eyes, and a small portion of the 

 front of the carapax exposed. Many of the injured lobsters 

 first placed in the park were females with spawn, and since 

 then uerried lobsters have been purposely added from time 

 to time. Young individuals of different sizes were said to 

 have been abundant at last accounts, but in an experiment 

 of this character a considerable lapse of time is required to 

 test its merits. As such parks do not depend for their prac- 

 tical success solely upon the rearing of the young, but rather 

 upon the perfecting of market supplies, which come from 

 the traps m poor condition, it is possible that they may be 

 made to pay if carried on economically, Their effect upon 

 a general increase of supplies would probably never be very 

 great. 



So far as we are aware experiments upon the propagation 

 of lobsters in Europe have been confined mainly to Norway 

 and were commenced therein 1873; the. first report upon this 

 subject was published in 1875. The berried lobsters were 

 kept in boxes, constructed so as to retain the embryos after 

 hatching. The young remained alive for several weeks and 

 their habits and the causes of their destruction were care- 



Of great interest in connection with the artificial propaga- 

 tion of lobsters bearing upon the same subject is the ques- 

 tion as to whether lobsters can be successfully transplanted 

 from one region to another. This experiment has already 

 been tried two or three times, but so far without success. 

 The transportation of live lobsters long distances, even by 

 railroads, has been accomplished, and they have also been 

 carried from this country to England. Mr. Livingston Stone 

 made three attemps to introduce the east coast lobster on 

 the coast of California: and on the last trial succeeded in 

 planting a number of living individuals near the north of 

 San Francisco Bay. As full accounts of these experiments 

 have already been published by the Fish Commission* we 

 do not need to repeat them here. 



The successful transplanting of lobsters must depend 

 upon the new region affording conditions sufficiently like 

 those of the old to favor the growth and reproduction of the 

 species; but the relative conditions of different regions have 

 never been carefully studied with this object in view, and 

 we are to-day unable to state precisely in what manner the 

 Pacific coast waters agree with, or differ from, those of the 

 Atlautic coast. Neither the. temperatures nor the specific 

 gravity of the waters of two coasts have been compared, and 

 it is only through incidental experiments that the fact has 

 been ascertained that a few species from each coast are able 

 to live and thrive upon the other. The conditions that are 

 essential to, or control the existence of a species in a new 

 region undoubtedly vary, more or less, according to its or- 

 ganization, and the effects of changes of location upon the 

 higher Crustacea have been but little studied, if at all. 

 Above all the new-comer must have the. power to sustain 

 itself in the struggle for existence with those forms which 

 already occupy the ground and have been accustomed to it 

 from long habit. Careful studies and experiments in this 

 line of research, with reference to marine forms, would be 

 of great practical benefit to the aims of the Fish Commission 

 and would probably lead to the transplanting of many kinds 

 of marine products to regions which are now poorly sup- 

 plied with edible forms. 



A sort of transplanting of young lobsters has been going 

 on along the New England coast, and especially the south- 

 ern portion of it, ever since the well-smack lobster trade 

 began. The fact was mentioned above that immense quan- 

 tities of embryo lobsters appear at the surface of the wells in 

 the carrier smacks during the hatching season, and as the 

 smacks journey along they work out through the holes in 

 the bottom of the well, and are thus constantly adding to 

 the supply of the regions through which the smacks pass. 

 It is unquestionable that the abundance of lobsters on the 

 southern New England coast has been partly kept up, and 

 probably increased at times in the past, by this transplant- 

 ing of the young, and this fact was noticed and referred to 

 over thirty years ago. The. fishermen have the greatest re- 

 spect for the embryo lobsters that appear in the wells of 

 their smacks, and take great pains that no harm shall come 

 to them. 



Numerous accounts have appeared in the newspapers, from 

 time to time since this transplanting occurred, to the effect 

 that many young lobsters, supposed to be the progeny of 

 those, brought over by Mr. Stone, had been taken by the fish- 

 ermen in the vicinity of San Francisco. Careful investiga- 

 tion has failed to substantiate these reports, and the few 

 small lobsters, so-called, that have been referred to natural- 

 ists have proved to belong to another related genus, quite 

 common on the California coast, but the species of which 

 never grow to a length of more than 3 or lin. 



♦Report TJ. S, Com. of Fish and Fisheries, Part III., pp. 259-265 

 1873-75 (1876); Part VH., pp. 637-044, 1879 (1883). 



Xixt Mmml 



FIXTURES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



Dec. 6 to 8.— Third Annual Dog Show of the Central Berkshire 

 Poultry, Pigeon and Pet Stock Association. W. T. Webster, Sec- 

 retary, Lee, Mass. 



Dec. 14 to 16.— Third Annual Dog Show of the Winsted Kennel 

 Olub. Frank D. Hallett, Superintendent, Winsted, Conn. Entries ' 

 close Dec. 3. 



Jan. 33 to 27, 1888.— First Dog Show of the Agusta Pet Stock and 

 Poultry Association, at Agusta, Ga. 



Feb. 21 to 24, 1888.— Twelfth Annual Show of the Westminster Ken- 

 nel Club, Madison Square Garden, New York. James Mortimer, 

 Superintendent. 



April 3 to (!,— Fourth Aunual Dog Show of the New England 

 Kennel Club, at Boston, Mass. J. W. Newman, Secretary. 

 FIELD TRIALS. 



Nov. 7.— First Annual Field Trials of the Indiana Kennel Club 

 at Bickuel, Ind. Open to dogs owned in Indiana. P. T. Madison, 

 Secretary, Look Box 4, Indianapolis, Ind. Entries close Oct. 25. 



Nov. 7.— Third Annual Field trials of the Western Meld Trials 

 Association. R. C. Van Horn, Secretary, Kansas City, Mo. 



Nov. 21.— Ninth Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field Trials 

 Club, at High Point N. C. W. A. Coster, Secretary, Flatbush, 

 Kings County, N. Y. 



December.— First Annual Field Trials of the American Field 

 Trials Club, at Florence, Ala. C W. Paris, Secretary, Cincinnati, 

 O. 



Jan. 10, 1888.— Second Annual Field Trials of the Texas Field 

 Trials Club, at Marshall, Tex. W. L. Thomas, Secretary, Mar- 

 shall, Tex. 



Jan. 16.— Fifth Annual Field Trials of the Pacific Coast Field 

 Trial Club, near Kingsburgh, Oal. N. P. Shelden, Secretary, 320 

 Sansome street, San Fraiwdsco, Cal. 



winter. The rough handling to which thev were sometimes ..■ 



subjected, in connection with the experiments of last sum- I fully studied. The results of these experiment will be or 

 mer, did not seem to harm them in the least. It is also great service in the treatment of the young at the VV ood s 

 probable, from this quality of the eggs, that they are not ' Holl station next summer. Mr. Dannevig's more recent 

 destroyed to any extent in nature, unless actually eaten from investigate ons in the same line have been noticed above. 



A. K. R.-SPECIAL NOTICE. 



THE AMERICAN KENNEL REGISTER, for the registration 

 of pedigrees, etc. (with prize lists of all shows and trials;, is 

 published every month. Entries close on the 1st. Should be in 

 early. Entry blanks sent on receipt of stamped and addressed 

 envelope. Registration fee (50 cents) must accompany each entry. 

 No entries inserted unless paid in advance. Yearly subscription 

 $1.50. Address "American Kennel Register," P. O. Box 2832, New 

 VTork. Number of entries already printed 5492. 



DOG SHOWS IN THE SOUTH. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Never in the history of the South has such interest been 

 manifested as at present in dog shows. Last j r ear the 

 inaugural show was held at Atlanta, Ga., and this winter 

 three shows will be held alone in this State. Atlanta opens 

 early in January, to be followed the next week in Macon, 

 and then the Augusta Pet Stock and Poultry Association of 

 Augusta will hold its first show from Jan. 23 to 27. There 

 are some very fine dogs here, and two regularly organized 

 kennels for breeding. 



Among the noted dogs are several imported pointers, 

 several of the Sensation, Beaufort and Graphic strains, one 

 of t he celebrated Bravo, aud a number of fine native pointers. 



There are a goodly number of the Laveracks, by Harry S. , 

 of the old Dash II. strain. There are also of the setter 

 family, several of the Gladstones, and native stock on the 

 imported Llewellyns. Also, of the Elcho stock of Irish set- 

 ters. Of the Scotch collies there is a brace here which we 

 think par excellence one of them having been shown but 

 once, and then taking first prize. 



We expect our show to be quite successful as an inaugural 

 enterprise, and to attract much stock from abroad as well as 

 near home. We can get up quite a creditable exhibition if 

 only the home stock was shown. J. M. W. 



Auousta, Ga., Oct. 15. 



