The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-10-11
ABOUT LOBSTERS.

ABOUT LOBSTERS.
''Dont talk to me of women fair.
Don't talk to me of music sweet,
Don't talk of any thing at all,
But give me something good to eat
don't think have ever written you
| an article of what | know about that
| queer fish called the lobster TO say
that blessings brighten as they take
their tight" seems trite in these days
when everyone is trying to say some
| thing that has never been said before:
| but it hits the state of things in the
lobster world, and must stand as an Off
set for its antiquity. TO get down to
question, it is not to be denied that lob
sters are becoming extremely scarce:
and where, less than forty years ago,
wholesale dealers shipped a thousand
pounds day, they now think a hum
dred pounds large average. Forty
years ago the price was from three to
five cents a pound. Now, if person
is inclined to be very accurate in his
dealings with Holsters, he will discover
that for fifty cents he gets about as
much lobster meat as is found III one
soft-shell crab of average size and quail
ity.
Excuse me in getting ahead of what
| should say i'll telling the natural
history of the lobster The shell is
olive or blackish green, as is well known.
Why it becomes red by boiling is not
perfectly understood, but acid and
alcohol applied to it produce similar
effect. Its horny, many jointed exter-
nal skeleton, being non -eXtensile, is
changed every season as the animal
| f,.-I L., 4
body, the new one forming underneath
in two equal halves, the tail being shed
without splitting. During this condi-
ton of the shell, which, for a time is
soft as paper, the animal is defenseless,
! hiding in crevices in the rocks to ESCAPE
destruction by voracious fish, and even
its own species, until its shell gets hard.
The principal organ of locomotion is
the tail, which by a sudden bending
underneath, Selfds the animal backward
with great velocity. The eggs of the
lobster are reddish black, glued together
by a viscid matter, and attached to the
mother and borne about protected
under the body Of the female until full
ly developed The young differ but
little from the adults, and take shelter
under the mothers tail They are.
when very young, often seen but few
inches long, and when appraised of
danger retreat to their mother like a
flock of young chickens.
| One OF the most curious peculiarities
of the lobster is the ease and frequency
with which the large claws are sepa-
rated, either by accident or from injury
received in their constant attacks upon
each other; these and other limbs are
very soon replaced, and it is a common
thing for one to be absent and one
smaller than its fellow. The fishermen
say they often lose claws caused by
heavy clap of thunder, for it is known
| to disturb them greatly.
There is but one species found in our
waters from New York to Newfound-
land, and those found north of Cape
Cod are said to be the best. The Euro
pean species are different. They are
very quarrelsome whether free or in
captivity, and dangerous to handle.
unless by those acquainted with their
habits and mode of attack.
The lobster-catching industry IS pur-
sued all along the coast, and principal
| ly by about as independent a class of
men as you will meet in many days
run. The catching of Holsters is, in
most cases, with them a side issue-or,
at least, only from May to November
| AHo o'VAie ~ iopoIC1lIS is qulle eA-
pensive, but the profits are in proper
ton. Each wants good boat; six
| teen foot tlat-bottom row boat is said to
be the best for all-round work. The
traps or pots, as they are called, are
usually home made affairs, and are put
together during the winter months.
They are about four feet long and two
wide and are built of strong Iaths. pre-
ferably of oak. The bottom is flat and
the sides and top form an arch some
thing like the letter ''u'' upside down.
Then, with the rope to rig one of these
pots, each one stands to cost it's owner
from three to four dollars.
| The fish scientists at Woods Hole for
some years have been trying to breed
them, as they do shad and other fish
from spawn but without much success
until of late. After the young were
Matched they would get into snarl and
smother one another. They have now
found how to prevent this, and hope
soon again to have Holsters galore.
We know Holsters are being depleted
very fast; but as things are with human
nature we just order and devour them,
| thinking we will make hay while the
sun shines, and when Holsters are no
more we will go without them with all
the grace in the world. The price is
constantly ON the rise, but has had no
effect on the demand for them, at least
the supply manages to keep just little
in the rear of the demand. They are
getting smaller every season. A good
lobster, for broiling, should weigh
pound, and one that weighs two pounds
is a rare fish nowadays. There was one
on exhibition at st. John fair, last week,
taken at Campobello, that measured 42
inches from the claws to the tail. [Geo,