NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 219 
(11) The hatching period varies also with the time of egg-laying, lobsters having 
rarely been known to hatch in November and February. 
(12) Taking all things into consideration the sexes appear about equally divided, 
though the relative numbers caught in certain places at certain times of the year may 
be remarkably variable. 
(13) Molting commonly occurs from June to September, but there is no month of 
the year in which soft lobsters may not be caught. 
(14) The male probably molts oftener than the female. 
(15) In the adult female the molting like the spawning period is a biennial one, 
but the two periods are one year apart. As a rule, the female lays her eggs in July, 
carries them until the following summer, when they hatch; then she molts. It is 
possible that a second molt may occur in the fall, winter, or spring, but it is not 
probable, and molting just before the production of new eggs is a rare occurrence. 
(16) The egg-bearing female, with eggs removed, weighs less than the female of 
the same length without eggs. 
(17) The new shell becomes thoroughly hard in the course of from six to eight 
weeks, the length of time requisite for this varying with the food and other conditions 
of the animal. 
(18) The young, after hatching, cut loose from their mother, rise to the surface of 
the ocean, and lead a free life as pelagic larvse. The first larva is about one-third of 
an inch long (7.84 mm.). The swimming period lasts from six to eight weeks, or until 
the lobster has molted five or at most six times, and is three-fifths of an inch long, 
when it sinks to the bottom. It now travels toward the shore, and, if fortunate, 
establishes itself in the rock piles of inlets of harbors, where it remains until driven 
out by ice in the fall or early winter. The smallest, now from 1 to 3 inches long, go 
down among the loose stones which are often exposed at low tides. At a later period, 
when 3 to 4 inches long, they come out of their retreats and explore the bottom, occa- 
sionally hiding or burrowing under stones. Young lobsters have also been found in 
eelgrass and on sandy bottoms in shallow water. 
(19) The food of the larva consists of minute pelagic organisms. The food of the 
older and adult stages is largely of animal origin with but slight addition of vegetable 
material, consisting chiefly of fish and invertebrates of various kinds. The large and 
strong also prey upon the small and weak. 
(20) The increase in length at each molt is about 15.3 per cent. During the first 
year the lobster molts from 14 to 17 times. At 10J inches the lobster has molted 25 
to 26 times and is about five years old. 
After reviewing the most important facts concerning the life of this animal we 
are ready to discuss the methods which have been tried to prevent its destruction, 
such as: (1) The protection of immature lobsters by establishing a legal-size limit, or 
by regulating the construction of traps, or by making close seasons — periods of the 
year when fishing is illegal; (2) protecting the “berried lobster” or females with 
external eggs; (3) regulating the canning industry; and (4) attempting to increase the 
supply of lobsters by artificial propagation. It must be admitted that up to the 
present time all these measures have proved very disappointing. 
The desire to protect the immature lobster and allow it to breed at least once in 
its life is certainly commendable. It is largely because of the failure of efforts to 
attain this result that the fishery is now in decline. One reason for this is that there 
are no obvious means of determining whether a live lobster has in every case produced 
