The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-05-20

IBID Decline and the Step
81 CHARLES MINOR BLA ckFoRD, n. D. !
70 Restore 1t

hole and 1evo,,rct1 $500 fry In tho course
Of tho night Besides the risk Of being
eaten, the youngsters run chance OF
being blown ashore and stranded by
the wind, and Of being left high and
dry OH the sand by a reccdlng tide AS
the larvnl stage lasts from ten to sixteen
days. It car, be seen that death loss must
DO enormous.
70 Offset this loss by artificial culture
Is not only possible, but can DO made
a profitable industry. The first practical
work in lobster culture was done IN 1885,,
and since that time the United States
Commission OF 1'isl, and Fisheries. CO.
operating with the States Interested. mas
Matched and planted many hundreds OF
millions OF fry from It's marine stations
at Woods Hole and Gloucester. on the
Massachusetts coast In recent years
the work OF gathering brood Holsters mas
been thoroughly and systematically con-
d,,ctod Each season for several months
before the Matching time the whole Ne"
England const is pntrollcd, and prncti-
cally every egg bearing lobster has peen
secured. BY an arrangement with the
state authorities. the fishermen hold the
brood Holsters until an agent OF the
commission (now the Bureau Of Fish
gcr,es( can collect them, which lio does
by paying price for them that 's
slightly above their market value.
The berried Holsters are sent to the
hatcherics where the eggs are removed
and the HOLSTERS sent back to their
points of capture to be set at nnertS'
Agents are also stationed at the places
where Holsters are brought In from the
Canadian, E,,rovlnces. and the eggs OBJ
tained from this source In some years
a ,oouni IN several millions. f.sI,34 ..t
By the time the bulk Of the eggs
reach the stations Tie time for hatch
ing Is close at hand. All that is needed
is an ample supply of sea water, but
with The appearance Of the larvae trou-
ble". begins. The searlier experii!mcnters
tried all sorts oftrecepta clesS for the fry
wooden tanks and tanks Of wire net
fling. some WITH gravel bottuns and
some partly filled with sand: glass aqua
ria stone aquaria, deep and shallow;
cars OF scri,n cloth sunk deep In the
water or floating 4 1.-THE surface-all were!
tried without success. The fry seemed
ia get on finely until the time for the
first mott, and then they died IN great
numbers. This mortality was repeated
at each succeeding mott. and rarely could
more than half a dozen survivors be had.
no matter what the ORIGINAL numper
might hnve been. ss
:
vide and feet deep. We're tried. The
top Of the bag was fastened to Il frame
of wood floating on the water, and the
bottom was kept submerged by sinkers.
The tides and the winds kept the water
In motion. and made the loose Sides flap
back and forth, creating constant cir
culaton, and preventing the fry from
sinking to the bottom. It was found
that this circulation Is essential. calm
OF even a few hours being fatal. so the
next step was 10 provide some means or
keeping the water agitated. Mr. George
III. Sherwood, Of Brown University, was
invited by the Rhode Island Commission
Of Inland Fisheries to conduct some eX-
ucrlments to this end at its floating
laboratory at Wickford, r. il, and IN
AnrIl, 9O1 lie, went there for that pur-
nose He devised a rearing pen that
consists of a series of scrim bags. GYM.
.dricn, in shape and supported by q
wooden frame. In the lower part Of each
bag he placed q two-bladed ian or pro
heller on n vertical shaft that was co,n-
nocted to a horizontal shaft above ms
..well." This shaft he rotated ~ u sAso
line engine, and the whlrling fahs i',auo
a current In the bags from bottom 10 'oP.
4 soon as this arrangement was put
into opcratlon the dca rate dccil'1eu'
nnd IN his earlier experiments the aver
= 90 norcentnge OF larvae that reachcd 'ne
mastering stage rose to ITO, ana az
one case it was over nlty.
rhis dit,,culty having been surmounteo'
4ha food nroblcm demanded attention.
,rhc ,apidlty of the growth OF. the youls
lobster depends largely on two 1hc,o' e.,
tho temperature OF the "atet; '.'iu .,,
abundance Of suitable fooa, VA ,o ."l, ne
being equal, the colder the water tne
s,ou,ar the development, and vice Versl,
NJ this is a matter that Is p1actlcul,S
i,avon1 control Nourishment Is Wltllll
control. however, and IS Oh great ~. ~,
portancc, for poorly nourisheu Try W.
remain In the larval stage TOT lhIee =.
fnIr weeks even II they should i'Vu ~
long. Hunger also leads 10 ca'''.ap" rrent
and that means a heavy loss, 80 Erenl
carc should be taken that the Try nave
abundant food After many trials 1t was
rnund that the oily flesh OF the mel
MADAM flfilcd every requirement. INC
fish we're run through an ORDINARY
grinder, and the minced flesh throW',
into the tanks Its oily nature preVe,aeo,u
It's sinking, and 1t was e s, Sor .IruI nI
III is, now the standard food for lrH'a'lo
ilobsterlings. 49,. !, 10.
II hns been demonstrated that IT IS
not only possible to rear Holsters VI ~,
closures until they attain n,arhctup,,l
size but that such an Embarrassing "ou'u
he a CONNIE rcial success. ihcre 10 ro1'"
for Improvement in the manner or sur
ling the water, and the bags should DC
If some more durable material than
scrim, but the machinery is simple ana
cheap and the other essentials for ioos' ~
c.i,,,rc arc not expensive, ana II ~
nor cent of the fry can be brought 10
,nnrket the industry will be highly pro-
filable.
SECURE FOREIGN TRADE.