The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-05-30
UNCLE SANS 4 GOOD
FRIEND OF The LOBSTER.

The lobster has a friend. Uncle Sam
via commence vigorous work for his
rescue from his enemies. He will estab-
llsh on the Maine coast a lobster hatch
cry to cost so. 900.
ms Will be the first government insti-
tuition devoted to lobster Matching. In it
hundreds of millions of eggs will be
Matched.
Mother lobster coats the outside of her
body with her freshly laid eggs This
she does usually in summer, every al
'ernate year. The eggs attached them
serves to little leg-lilxe protuberances- on
ner under side. She coats them with a
cement-like substance which the water
nardens. The maternal instinct insnire.
ner to glue them fast to her. lost thev
We lost IN the churning sea. She car.
RES them ten or eleven months hafora
Matching. oeAoie
Inc young break their shells in Inv.
anu swim off to seek fortune.
me number of young which no+hor
.oos.er produces every two years de-.
penos upon her size. If she is eirht
lmcnes long she produces 5000 eav.
hence the number doubles with every
."o lhches added. A ten-inch mother
carries lo'ooo eggs; a twelve-inch. &c. 600.
a. aourteen-inch, 10000; a sixteen-inch
oo'ooo' ana so on up to 100000, which an
pedrs TO De the maximum
Inc new hatchery will collect all egos
oeaf'hs mothers ob.ainable along the
WAN coast. It is against the law for
A""ermen to sell to dealers Holsters
coated with pregnant eggs. Many. bv
using wooden nnitten strip off the eggs
ana sell the protesting females as lawfn,
iops.ers But the new hatchery will send
OUT launches to canvass lobster nottars
Tar and wide and pay for egg-bearing
Holsters. "e"i 'Ns
thus will be collected the millions
upon mllllons Of eggs to be utilized in
the hatchery.
ROW AFTER row of seven quart glass lars
VIII occupy the main Matching room of
the new station. Through these will pass
sea water. AS the thousands of egg-loh-
sters are brought in skilled men will,
strip them Of their beaded coatings. Each
operator with his left hand will grasp
nghting creature from above. turn her
on her back and lower her, head down.
ward, into vessel designed for the pur
pose. Pressing her firmly against the
SIDES, with dull, rt-bladed knife. he
will separate her eggs from the hair-like
hbres holding them.
The eggs will be placed into the lars.
They will be dipped out into glass grad
yates, each ounce marked whereupon will
090rsaA hout ashalf million eggs
VIII be placed in each jar In a short
time they WIFI separate and. appear like
so many beads. e." . =.
IN the center Of each table, between
-two rows of Matching jars,( will be one
row OIL similar vessels for the reception
OF the young. A cover of muslin upon
she little Jars will prevent their escape
Lobster, jr., resembles a mosquito
wlggler-such as is seen in rain barrels.
'tFe IS third OF an niche long, trans
parent and reddish. Almost his first act
is to shed his coat. During the first sir
,Qr eight weeks he throws Off his little
Shell five or. six times and grows to be
SIS of an inch long. BY these processes
he transforms himself, grows legs and
claws; assumes resemblance to his
mother. His eyes are enormous.
He is bloodthirsty cannibal. He IA
hungry from the moment Of birth, and
when Matched in the sea feeds vora-
ciously upon minute crustaceans If he
cannot obtain this natural food, he turns
upon his brother. The great problem
will be how best to supply the little glut-
tons with natural food.
The artificial pond stocked with food
for infant Holsters, may be made an ad-
junct to the new hatchery. Such protec-
ton need but last six or eight weeks, at
ter which the young, now 3-5 inch long,
goes to the bottom, where he can care
Tor himself, hiding beneath rocks and
stones. During the year after taking
on this new mode of existence he grows
to be two or three inches long, and sheds
his shell eight or eleven times. at longe,
intervals. He rips his old shell up the
back and jumps out Of it.
At Sandy Hook some time ago, lob
ster weighing 80 pounds was caught. It's
claws were large enough to clip off the
arm of a man.
Uncle Sam wants the states bordering
on the 1900 miles of lobster coast to aid
him in this crusade. While he is spend
ing his money on artificial propagation he
will expect them to enact more strongent
laws.
New Fields for British Capital.
If the ocean carrying trade is still a
~ f,ov, A~,