El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-08-12

, ripe" female Holsters from fishermen
and scrape the eggs from their swim
merets with a blunt wooden knife
The eggs were then put into glass 81
phon jars $50 arranged that a stream
of sea water runs continually through
the receptacle) and the lobsterlings.
"a hours after chipping the shell"
were liberated in shadows along shore
To Have FIOa1inG Laboratory.
Now that money is available for the
purpose, the problem will be tackled
in the proper way. a floating labor
be a simple enough affair. consisting
of a sort of houseboat surrounded by
skeleton RATS There will be a num-
Der of these RATS, which are designed
merely TO hold and support a series of
boxes, each of the latter being 10 feet
square and four feet deep. The boxes
are in effect incubators. and, being
submerged. are full of water
Eeach box has two little windows in
its bottom and two additional windows
on two of its (opposite) sides. these
openings being screened with wire net
Thus-the houseboat being anchored in
a sheltered splace, in a tideway-the
sea floats freely through it. The OBJ
ject in view is to reproduce natural
conditions as closely as possible.
HOLSTERS Are CannibaIs.
Experience has proved that the
pest way 10 manage Is 10 put llpc
hen Holsters into the boxes and allow
hem to craw about undisturbed until
fheir eggs hatch-just as would hap
pen in a state of nature. Fifty or
more may be placed at a time in one
box-to be later removed to another
box, wherein the Matching process is
continued. All the eggs carried by an
individual mother lobster. do not hatch
simultaneously; but by this method of
transfer it is made sure that all the
young in a given box shall be Of about
the same age-a matter of much i'm
portance. inasmuch as otherwise the
older and bigger ones would devour
their smaller brothers and sisters.
So far. so goods But If no further
measures were adopted the incubator
system would accomplish very poor re-
suits The baby Holsters would huddle
together and eat one another; epidem-
les OF disease would carry them off
wholesale, and mighty few, if any.
would survive to reach the walking
stage. These. indeed, were the prin-
cipal difficulties that beset the lobster
rearing problem before a solution of 1t
was finally discovered
Keep Water Active.
The solution lay in keeping the
water continually in active movement
This is accomplished by means OF
two bladed propeller lin shape resem-
bling a restaurant FAM. which is made
to revolve horizontally near the bot
tom of each box. 1t draws a steady
current OF sea water up through the
windows in the bottom and out through
the windows at the sides. BY this
means the lobsterlings are not only
provided with an ever fresh supply OF
their native element. but are kept
about and scattered They
cannot hubble.
Mechanically speaking. the arrange
ment is simple \ gasoline engine on
the houseboat. with the help of a prop
erly-geared shafts. will keep scores of
the propellers going in as many boxes
night and day. Each propeller makes
nine revolutions in a minute The
baby Holsters. as fast as liberated
from the swimmerets Of their mothers.
are carried TO the surface OF the water
by the upward current, and thereafter
float merrily about
Fierce When Hungry.
It is necessary of course. to feed
them, not only that they may thrive
and grow, but also TO discourage their
inclination TO devour each other. \
hungry lobsterling is a fierce cannibaL
They will eat hashed clans or minced
fish; but experience has shown that
the most healthfuI diet for them is