Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-09-11
A NEW INDUSTRY.
Lobsters are Now Pr0pagated by
Artificial Means.
INTERESTING FISH EXPERIMENTS.
1900, 900 Infant Lobsters Dumped Into
the Sea to Take their Chances Of
Being Gobbled Up.

For supplying the trade in
Florida curiosities there is large de-
mand for young reptiles of this kind.
In Jacksonville, which is the center Of
the traffic, from 5000 to 10, 900 alliga-
tors are sold to tourists annually
nearly all of them baby ones. The
latter are collected by professional
hunters, who receive for them from
$40 to $25 hundred. Some of them
are disposed of alive at retail, but
many are stuffed. An infant alligator
stuffed is worth % cents more than a
live one. Saurians six to twelve feet
long fetch $12 to $25.
The difficulty of securing young alli-
gators in sufficient numbers has led to
the establishment of this strange bust
ness. To find the nests of these rep
tiles is comparatively easy, and the
eggs are shipped in bulk by the hun.
tiers to Jacksonville. In that city
there are twelve dealers in alligators,
the best known of them being a man
who has earned the sobriquet of CALI
gator Davis. "
1t was he who originated the incuba-
tor system. which is simple enough.
The eggs, about the size of goose-eggs,
are placed in boxes Of sand and covered
up. The boxes are exposed to the
torrid rays OF semi-tropical sun, and
in few days the lizards are Matched.
They are then six inches or so in
length. Some of them are killed, and
stuffed as soon as they see daylight.
1t IS estimated that 2, 500, 900 alliga-
tors were killed in Florida between
located at Kissimmee handled $4,000
hides. During the same year twelve
hunters brought to Fort Pierce 1000
pelts. Two firms in Jacksonville
handled 1000 skins in 1889. A few
years ago all expert hunter could easily
secure 600 alligators in three weeks,
and one man at Cocoa killed forty two
in one night.
The skins are paid for in provisions
and ammunition mainly. Dealers get
IS cents apiece for them from tanners
in New York In 1889 about $50
pounds of alligator teeth were sold,
hunters receiving from 81 to So pound
for them. They are removed by bury
ing the heads and rotting out the
teeth. Of the best teeth about seventy
make pound.
The stocking Of the Atlantic coast
waters with artificially Matched lob
sters is the most interesting expert
ment that now engages the attention
of the United States Fish Commission.
The enterprise is being conducted at
Woods Holl, Mass, where during the
present summer the enormous number
of 81, $780, 900 lobster eggs have been
taken and subjected to the incubator
process. OF these 71,000,000 were
actually Matched.
The female Holsters in spawn are
obtained from fishermen, and each one
is held by the tail while the egg
masses are removed by gentle scraping
with dull wooden knife. The eggs
are attached to the swimmerets of the
animal. A mother lobster carries from
5, 900 to 80, 900 eggs They are olive
green in color, and, as the time Of
Matching approaches, the shells be-
come so translucent that the little
creatures may be seen coiled up inside
of them.
To hatch them is the simplest matter
in the world. They are put into an
ordinary glass jar, through which
continuous stream of fresh water flows,
keeping the eggs agitated. After a
few days the young Holsters emerge
from the shells, shrimp.like and almost
transparent. They look not the least
like adults of their species.
Now comes the dangerous part of
their existence. By the time they are
forty eight hours old they have begun
to prey upon each other. They are
veritable cannibals, and no matter
how much food is given to them they
are eager to gobble their companions.
So it is out of the question to keep a
number of them together in tank.
Accordingly, the experts of the Fish
Commission are obliged to take the
infant Holsters when they are only
about day old and dump them into
the ocean to take their chances. The
likelihood of the survival of any indi-
vidual among them is very small Baby
Holsters, like juvenile oysters. are free
swimming animals. They float about
at or near the surface of the sea, prey
to all sorts of fishes and numerous other
enemies. From a life-insurance point
of view they are extremely bad risks.
Not one in good many thousands
ever grows up. Besides. they change
their shells at short intervals, that be-
ing the only way in which they can
grow bigger, and this process is accom-
plished with much danger, many of
them die in melting.
At the age of about seven weeks the
young lobster undergoes its fourth
molt. and thereupon it assumes the
shape of an adult, leaving the surface
for good and descending to the bottom
where it spends the rest of its lifetime
in walking about or hiding in holes
among the rocks. Baby Holsters are
about one third Of an inch long when