NATURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN LOBSTER. 
2 99 
Table 10. — Production of Eggs. 
Length ilobster. 
8 inches . . . 
8J4 inches . 
8M inches . 
8K inches. 
9 inches . . . 
9 inches . 
gYz inches . 
gY inches . 
10 inches . . 
10K inches 
10Y inches 
10H inches 
11 inches . . 
1 1 >4 inches 
n x /2 inches 
11% inches 
12 inches . . 
12% inches 
12^ inches 
12K inches 
Smallest 
number 
of eggs. 
Largest 
number 
of eggs. 
Average 
number 
of eggs. 
Number of 
lobsters 
examined. 
Length of lobster. 
Smallest 
number 
of eggs. 
Largest 
number 
of eggs. 
Average 
number 
of eggs. 
Number of 
lobsters 
examined. 
3-045 
9 - 135 
4, 822 
6 
13 inches 
6, 090 
48, 720 
28, 610 
321 
6, 090 
7, 612 
6, 851 
2 
13 inches 
24,360 
48, 720 
33,495 
5 
6, 090 
9 . 135 
7 , 105 
3 
13K inches 
42, 630 
42,630 
42,630 
2 
3.045 
i8, 270 
7,902 
143 
14 inches 
6, 090 
85, 260 
36, 960 
426 
6, 090 
12, 180 
9,083 
35 
14H inches 
21,315 
60, 900 
42, 968 
90 
3.045 
20, 792 
9 . 297 
241 
15 inches 
12, 180 
97,440 
46.524 
280 
15% inches 
3.045 
24,360 
io ,555 
514 
15K inches 
24,360 
97,440 
53,795 
45 
6, 090 
22,838 
11, 622 
61 
15^ inches 
48, 720 
54,810 
50, 750 
3 
3.045 
36,540 
12,905 
532 
16 inches 
24,360 
97,440 
57, 146 
103 
3.045 
48. 720 
15, 410 
568 
16 Yt inches 
36, 540 
85, 260 
66,053 
13 
6, 090 
25, 882 
17, 102 
43 
17 inches 
12, 180 
85, 260 
63,336 
30 
3.045 
42,630 
18,668 
307 
17M inches 
60, 900 
73,080 
64, 960 
3 
12, 180 
24. 360 
17,993 
11 
18 inches 
60, 900 
91,350 
77,430 
7 
3.045 
54, 810 
2 I. 35 I 
414 
19 inches 
54 , Bio 
91,350 
77,647 
4 
18, 270 
27,405 
23,396 
8 
9. 135 
42,630 
24, 812 
156 
Total number examined 
4,645 
18. 270 
42.630 
26, 390 
12 
In table 10 (reproduced from 749) we have given the smallest, largest, and aver- 
age number of eggs removed from the bodies of 4,645 individuals. These animals were 
“old” egg lobsters and were caught in Vineyard Sound and vicinity from April to 
June. The numbers were determined as a basis of 6,440 eggs to the fluid ounce. These 
tabulated results show great variability in the number of eggs borne by individuals 
of the same length, which may be attributed in part to loss of ova, but more to varia- 
tion in the period of sexual maturity. Thus in 514 lobsters of the 10-inch length the 
number of external eggs varied from 3,045 to 24,360, with an average of 10,555. For 
the 12-inch size the corresponding numbers were 3,045, 54,810, and 21,351. We have 
seen that the period of sexual maturity is exceedingly variable in different individuals 
and that one animal may lay its first batch of eggs when 7 inches long, while another 
may not rear a brood until its body is 5 inches longer and has increased greatly in vol- 
ume. The phenomenon is not remarkable in view of the slow growth of the ova, but 
it is important to recognize the fact. 
Consideration of the average number of eggs produced suggested a general tend- 
ency which was expressed as follows: The number of eggs produced at each reproductive 
period tends to vary in a geometrical ratio, while the lengths of the animals producing 
these eggs vary in an arithmetical ratio. The average production in lobsters 8 inches 
long being 5,000 eggs, the average product for lobsters 10 inches long would be 10,000; 
for the 12-inch length, 20,000. This high rate of production is not maintained beyond 
the length of 14-16 inches. The lobsters with the largest number of eggs measured 
from 15 to 16 inches in length and carried upward of 97,000 eggs, which measured 
16 fluid ounces and weighed nearly a pound. 
Tataste ( 777 ) in a critical paper on that section of my earlier work dealing with 
the fecundity of this animal observes that the number of eggs carried by the lobster 
at any given time should be proportional to the volume of the body or to the cube 
of its length. If N represents the number of eggs carried, l the length of the animal, 
