254 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
BOILING. 
Live lobsters are rnucli preferred by the trade throughout the country, and only 
those that can not be marketed in such condition are boiled. The number boiled 
fluctuates considerably, owing to the condition of the markets. When the fresh 
markets of Boston and New York are overstocked, the lobster dealers of Bockland and 
Portland, where most of the Maine lobsters are boiled, proceed to boil their surplus 
stock. 
The following description of the boiling is from The Fisheries and Fishery 
Industries of the United States, section y, vol. n, p. 684: 
The boilers are rectangular wooden tanks or vats of about 60 gallons capacity, lined with zinc 
and furnished with a cover. Heat is applied by the introduction of steam through a series of perfo- 
rated pipes arranged in the bottom of the tank. The steam is generated in an ordinary boiler standing 
close at hand. The lobsters are not thrown directly into the vat, as the operation of removing them 
after cooking would in such an event he an exceedingly tedious one; hut an iron framework basket 
of rather slender bars is made to fit the tank loosely, and is lowered and raised by means of a small 
derrick placed over the tank. This frame, which holds about 350 pounds, is filled with lobsters at 
the edge of the wharf from the Uoating cars, and is then carried to the tank and lowered into it after 
the water it contains has reached the desired temperature, that of boiling. The water is first sup- 
plied to the tank, which is filled to about one-third or two- thirds its capacity, about a peck of salt is 
added, and then the steam is turned on. The same water suffices for several successive boilings, 
about 2 quarts of salt being added each time. The lobsters are allowed to remain in about half an 
hour, or until the proper red color indicates they are sufficiently cooked. 
After cooling, they are packed iu barrels for shipmeut, just as live lobsters are. 
When well iced they will keep a week or louger. Only live lobsters are boiled, as the 
meat of those which die prior to boiling deteriorates rapidly. 
The fishermen and small dealers use various kinds of boilers, from an ordinary 
washboiler to a smaller form of the regular boiler used by the large dealers. The prod- 
uct prepared by these people is generally picked from the shell and sold locally in that 
condition. This opens a way for the fisherman to evade the 104-inch limit law. They 
frequently take lobsters under the minimum legal size and, after boiling them, pick 
the flesh. It is then impossible for anybody to tell what sized lobster the meat had 
come from. Quite a local trade in the picking of lobsters has been established in a 
number of small coast towns, the meat generally being sold in the immediate vicinity. 
The following table shows the extent of the wholesale lobster trade in Bockland 
and Portland during 1898, including everything connected with the business except 
the smacks and pounds, which are shown elsewhere. There are a few other dealers 
scattered along the coast, but most of the business is concentrated at these cities. 
An idea of the extent of the increase in the lobster trade of Portland can be gained 
when it is stated that in 1880 about 1,900,000 pounds of lobsters, valued at $70,000, 
were handled here, while 6,145,821 pounds, valued at $611,955, were handled in 1898. 
Extent of the ivholesale lobster trade of Bockland and Portland in 1898. 
Valueol'prop- 
erty, capital, 
and wages. 
Rock- 
land. 
Port- 
land. 
JN - umber of per- 
son s engaged. 
Rock- 
land. 
Port- 
land. 
Lobsters bought 
and sold. 
Bockland. 
Portland. 
No. 
Value. 
No. 
Value. 
Property, etc. 
Cars 
Cash capital. 
Wages 
$14, 338 
850 
22, 000 
4, 676 
$44, 770 
6, 800 
110, 500 
18, 198 
Firms 
Proprietors 
Clerks 
Other e m - 
ployees 
2 
3 
2 
7 
*10 
13 
2 
31 
Bought No.. 
Bought lbs. . 
Sold, alive ..lbs.. 
Sold, boiled .lbs. . 
692, 188 
1, 038, 282 
795, 934 
347, 815 
$89, 984 
91, 532 
26, 705 
4, 097, 214 
6, 145, 821 
5, 308, 027 
515, 518 
$611, 955 
690, 045 
82, 483 
* Several of these firms also handle other fishery products. 
