214 
BUI.I.ETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
PROPORTION OF WASTE TO EDIBLE PARTS IN THE LOBSTER. 
Atwater (jj), in his chemical analysis of the flesh of the lobster, gives the propor- 
tion of the edible parts and shell as follows : 
Total edible portion 39-77 
Shell 57. 47 
Loss in cleaning 2.76 
The proportions of water and dry substance in the edible portion are estimated as 
follows : 
Water 82. 73 
Dry substance 17-27 
In this relation the analysis given in table 3 will be of interest. These data were 
obtained from a 13 -inch (boiled) female lobster, with shell of medium hardness. Liter- 
ally all of the soft and edible parts were carefully removed from the skeleton and 
weighed. This, without doubt, accounts for the higher percentage of “edible” parts 
obtained when compared with the result quoted above, it being assumed that ail of the 
soft tissues of this animal are edible and wholesome excepting the stomach and intestine. 
The flesh of the lobster is rich in nitrogenous or proteid substances and contains a 
considerable amount of phosphorus and sulphur. Its nutritive value as compared with 
beef taken as a standard is 61.97 per cent (ii). 
