New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-12-20
LOBSTERS on THE PACIFIC COAST.
EFFORTS TO INTRODUCE THE BIG sHELLFIsH
IN WESTERN WATERS.
From The San Francisco Chronicle.

| From The San Francisco Chronicle.
Everything grows big in California; why not the
h I, o hn sccnsef,l Ec,ween IS-5 and
$3.50 five attempts made 10 induce him to col
onize coast The first importation failed be-
cause the wooden plugs were not drawn from III"
claws whcri the ish were released and they wer-
consequently unable TO defend themselves or cap
ture their food
Since he has been handled with tender soliciude
and carefully placed where it was thought he would
he fruitful and multiply there has been no evidence
| 10 show that he has even made any attempt TO
raise a family.
Major Rrce chief of the United States Fish Com
mission. has not forgotten his old homo in Calif9r-
mia. Under his direction carload OF Holsters tlio-
marus Americanusl WIS despatched Last week from
| I'm wooden crates partly 'lod win rock weed and
ranged in the car 30 they could be kept cold and
Townsend. naturalist on the United states steam
ship Alhatross. watched over their welfare. A, a
certain low temperature Homarus becomes coma
tose. AT least sluggish and semi-iorIid. But.
cod-hloodcd as lie is. b" must not get too chilly
vigilance. as usual was the price OF success and
50 vrilant were the watchers ,ha, only about TWO
dozen died out OF FIVE hundred. When tho crates
were foated on the waves Of tho Pacific at Mon
tcroy the survivors. whose ultimate destination was
Cypress Point soon began 10 shake Of their orpor
hnr 'N d liza no, ancomnrsrcd snow
storm which caused an abnormal depression Of
temperature. Crustacoans seom strongly arsc'ed
After the crates had been taken from tho car
a nn II h s 2cf4 nma Hs f had rSsd @
proceed on their journey Half the carload only
chartered and bedded with 4 soft mat OF *
celsor that no rude conclusion might crack The
Montorey's proportion OF the now arrivals was
driven to Cypress Point This place was probably
selected because the pistol crab. Crustac"au very
like a small lobster in appearance. has her" his
habitat. and manages to make a good living for
himself. swapping his formdabl" nppers with sncb
a snap as has gained him his name. The waters
marine life. and food for Holsters ought 20 be
plenty. For though the lobster is scavenger.
t,,f,, 1lf tffnt fr ON
as well as a stale FISH. HOLSTERS browse q little on
eel grass or algae OF various kinds but as a ruiz
hide under the dark fronds OF sea moss until their
favorite lurking places, being good both for de-
fensive and offensive purposes Cypress Point fur
niShes IDEAL lobster conditions Masses OF gray
granite SCARED and riven by fire ana frost and
flood. jut ont into the ocean, formin here and
there narrow inlcts into which the incoming tide
drives ever fresh supply Of pure sea water ana
Adjacent TO Cypress Pon, are the sandy reaches
of Point Pinos ana Moss Beach. while in Carmel
the mud and silt deposited by Carmel River In
food times Here the Woods Hole visitors can bur
row in the mud and keep warm or dig IN the sand
after clans. 10 both Of when habits they are
n n@dG d2 the fofner h%5 here han on thu Nv
England coast. where me mean iempcrature Of
arrived at cypress Point the lob-tcrs w"r. picked
up one by one from the boxes and lung into the
Tnc young arc many years in attaining full
SIDES In the earlier stages the spirit Of cannibaI-
ism il so strong IN them that i'm tn" United States
hatchery at Woods Hole II is found necessary 10
eegreyate them soon as they are fairly out Of
the egg 10 keep each from swallowing the other.
Not even when they are full grown do their hard
shell and their powerful nppers save thcm from
their terrible enemy. the wolf-hsh whose sharp
nc teeth set in laws Of bulldog grip. crunch righ;
through the comparatively soft. d"fcnccloss armor
OF the lobster. As these wolf-hsh arc by no means
rare an our coast. the imported lobster find II
hard 70 hold its own But If enemies are plenty
there Is also plenty OF cover. for there arc here
tons Of thousands Of acres OF kclp-covcrcd rocks
where millions Of Holsters could find shelter IL the
future as have their cOngencrs the crabs. in the
past.
Conditions rs a whole seem promising abun-
dance OF food abundance OF shelter water ~
enuable icrppcraturc and enemies specially
the watch for Holsters. seeing hat there have been
no Holsters here IN the past TO watch for. the PTS
to crab has survived all the pcrils Of the coast.
and there is nuCh reason for hope that the HOLSTERS
now transpantcd may also prove able to propagate
freely and i'm the carly part OF tho next century
furnish a new Industry to the Pacific coast.