17 
LOBSTER CULTURE. 
Tlie suj)ply of henied lobsters was obtained from lilytb, 
Newl)io;^in and Cullercoats. Some were sent to tlie I^abora- 
tory in boxes by train, and others were broufrbt in a tank by 
tlie ‘‘ Evadne.” On andval the lobsters were placed in the 
tanks of the private aquarinm, from which the copper stan- 
dards of the paddle apparatus used the previous year had been 
removed. It was sugp:ested in last year's report that the 
failures were probably due to two causes, the efrf? capsules 
beinf? allowed to become too dry durinj? the transit of the 
bended lobster, and the presence of miniite quantities of 
copjver due to the action of the sea water on the cojipei’ stand- 
ards. This latter surmise was pioved this y(‘ar by 
' experiment. Seveial larv.-e were removed from the tanks in 
which they were reared and placed in a tank, on the side of 
which the copper standard had l>een left, and they died 
‘ within ‘-24 hours. 
The larvm first appeared on -Tune 2Dth, and continued to 
hatch until the middb' of July. From these 14 lobster- 
liiiffs were reared ami lived in the small tanks up to the 
' be<>dnnintr of Autrust. JUit during- that month they died in 
succession, the last living until Aufrust 28th, when it was 
|| 8 weeks old. The experiment was extended by conveying on 
July 21st, 84 lobsters in the larval stage to a (dosed aiea. It 
will be interesting to see Mhether at this stage there is a 
prospect of a reasonable survival. 
Some of the berried lobsters were placed in the floor pool 
of the public aquarium, and on September 7th six more 
lobsterlings were obtained from the larvae hatched there. 
The larger area of the floor pool was found to be an improve- 
' ment. The lobsters did not attempt to remove the eggs as 
I they do in the narrow confines of the tanks of the private 
' aquarium. In conseftuence a larger number of larvae was 
obtained. 
In August two berried lobsters were obtained by Fishery 
Officer I aylor. one from Xewbiggin and the other from 
Noi-th Shields Fish Quay, and from these a further batch of 
