Lobster trap

“ The lobster is so full of curiosity that he crawls into the trap, but finds it more difficult to get out again. Some of the pots are so constructed as to catch four lobsters at one time.
“You will notice,” said Jim, “that the markers are of different colors and combinations of color. Every fisherman in a section has his own, and no one else dares to touch the trap guarded by the markers of another.”
Jeanette had been busy pulling wild roses from the thicket beside which they were standing; and when they got back into the car, presented each person with a fragrant spray. ”

“ All cars in which lobsters are kept, and all lobster cars while in the water, shall have the name of the owner or owners thereof on the top of the car, where it may plainly be seen, in letters not less than three-fourths of an inch in length, plainly carved or branded thereon, and all traps, cars, or other devices for the catching of lobsters shall have, while in the water, the owner's name carved or branded in like manner on all the buoys attached to said traps or other devices, under a penalty of $10 for each car and $5 for each trap or device not so marked ”

“ In animals which have acquired a higher organization the adjustments are more complex, both because the reactions are more varied and because they cover a longer period of time. Thus the jelly fish depends upon such food as happens to come within its reach, seizing from moment to moment that which it encounters; but a lobster pursues its food, making complicated movements in order to reach and seize it. One can trap lobsters easily ”

“ But the smaller one is chiefly employed as a kind of anchor, by means of which the animal can cling to the weeds or rocks at the bottom of the sea.
Lobsters are caught in pots made of basketwork, just as crabs are. But they are not nearly so dainty as crabs, and do not mind whether the bait is fresh or putrid. They are always very much attracted, too, by any object that glitters, and many a lobster has been lured to its death merely by one or two oyster-shells hung up inside the pot in such a manner as to show the shining pearly interior. ”

“ Its large claws enable it to seize on its prey, to fix itself on the small prominences of rocks in the sea, to resist the motion of the waves, and to defend itself against its enemies. When the Lobster wants to spring off the rocks, it makes a fulcrum of its tail, which has the action of a powerful spring. Its gait is awkward, as in all the crustacea. Besides its claws, it has four small legs on each side, to assist it in its movements. Under the tail the hen Lobster preserves her eggs till they are hatched. They are extremely prolific. ”

“ The lobster fishery is entirely confined to the shallow water near the shore, and can only be replenished and maintained by the young lobsters that hatch out in that neighbourhood. Large quantities of lobster spawn are destroyed every year when berried lobsters are caught. It is estimated that, on an average, 30 per cent of the lobsters caught are berried females. The fishermen either remove the spawn and throw it back into the sea—where, of course, it almost certainly becomes fish food—or sell it to be used in making certain special sauces. ”

“ As it does so, the tail and the tail-plates spread out, and act very much like a broad oar. And the result is that the lobster darts swiftly backward through the water. Shrimps and prawns swim in exactly the same way.
Lobsters are very quarrelsome creatures, and are constantly fighting; and it very often happens that in these battles they pull off one another's limbs. They seem to feel very little pain, however, from such an injury, and before very long new legs begin to grow in place of the old ones, so that in course of time the wounded creatures are as perfect as ever. ”

“ It seems to be compelled to rise to the surface, for sunlight, or any bright illumination, always brings swarms of lobsterlings to the top of the jars in which they are hatched. In the sea this impulse towards the light stands them in good stead, for in the surface-waters they find themselves surrounded by the countless atoms of animal life, or potential life, the eggs and young of smaller sea beasts. The young lobster is furiously hungry and voracious, because, like the young crayfish, it has to change not only its shell but the lining of its stomach five times in eighteen days. ”

“ In entering, after first reconnoitering around and over the pot, the lobster always backs in, primarily that he may be prepared to meet any foe following him, also because his large claws would be apt to catch in the net funnel should he enter head first. After discovering that he is imprisoned, which he does very speedily, he seems to lose all desire for the bait, and spends his time roaming around the pot hunting for a means of escape. ”

“ To allow for the growth of its interior substance, it is obliged—most perilous obligation!—to submit that the hard cuirass shell shall at times be discarded; that the creature shall have its seasons of moulting; that the eyes, and the claws, and the tentacles, which supply the place of lungs shall suffer with all the rest.
A strange and pitiful sight it is to see the Lobster writhing, twisting, struggling, to get out of its too confining armor. So violent is the struggle that he sometimes actually casts off his claws. ”

“ Then the lobster crawls in to get the fish bait, and it can’t crawl out again.”
“Why can’t it, and how do you know?” asked Janet.
“I know ’cause Captain Oleson told me,” answered Teddy. “And the lobster can’t get out ’cause he gets tangled in the piece of fish net. A lobster has to crawl backward in the ocean. He can’t go frontwards ’cause his big claws are in the way. He crawls backward into the little hole in the piece of fish net in the pot, and when he wants to crawl out again he can’t do it. He can’t find the hole ’cause he has to go backward all the while.” ”

“ And when lobsters have been out of water for some time they get slow and sluggish, and seem hardly able to lift their claws which, often, are half as large as themselves. Of course, when a lobster does pinch, he pinches much harder than a crab. And old, big lobsters have teeth on their claws so they can crush even a clam or an oyster shell, I should imagine. ”

“ There is, first of all, the danger of the act not being accomplished skilfully, when death always ensues. The Lobster remains soft and unprotected for about six weeks after the ecdysis, and is very apt to fall a prey to the predaceous fish, such as Sharks, Skates, Cod, etc., which feed upon it. There are, however, some peculiar adaptations connected with the process which are of interest. In order to facilitate the ecdysis, areas of absorption are formed upon the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the carapace, on the narrower parts of the chelipedes, and at other places ”

“ The dead lobsters and those which have had their shells broken or have been so injured that they are very sure to die are either thrown overboard or on the dump. A lobster which has lost one or even both claws is not thrown away, as such an injury would have very little effect on its health.
When an order is received for live lobsters, those which have been longest in the cars are usually shipped. Flour barrels holding about 140 pounds or sugar barrels holding about 185 pounds, with small holes bored in the bottoms for drainage, are used for the shipment. ”

“ As we passed Wood End, we noticed the pile of lumber on the shore which had made the cargo of their vessel.
About Long Point in the summer you commonly see them catching lobsters for the New York market, from small boats just off the shore, or rather, the lobsters catch themselves, for they cling to the netting on which the bait is placed of their own accord, and thus are drawn up. They sell them fresh for two cents apiece. Man needs to know but little more than a lobster in order to catch him in his traps. ”

“ It struck her as decidedly uncommon to be lectured on the error of jumping to conclusions by a distinguished Southern United States attorney baled up in a rubber suit with a freshly painted hood while tearing miles and miles to sea in quest of lobster. She could not understand why it was necessary to burn so much gasoline in pursuit of this most edible scavenger, and presently said so.
“Why are we going so far?” she inquired. “We've been passing lobster pots ever since we left.”
“Ah, Miss Kath'rine,” said Timothy, “but we're not after the common, ordinary little ol' lobster. ”

“ The artful Crab tears off other pieces of weed with its pincers, and attaches them to the hooks. It is another dodge, of course, to escape from enemies. The Lobster, whose picture you see, has a life-story much like that of the Crab. He, also, grows too big for his suit of armour, and casts it off in a wonderful manner, but only after a great deal of trouble. In his new suit he is very weak and soft--an easy prey to the first enemy to find him. He cannot defend himself then; he can only lie helplessly on his side, waiting for his coat to harden. ”

“ In the female lobster, also called hen lobster, is found, during the breeding season, the spawn, known as coral. Sex is determined by the pair of appendages in the tail which lie nearest the body; in the female they are soft and pliable, in the male hard and stiff. At one time small lobsters were taken in such quantities that it was feared, if the practice was long continued, they would be exterminated. To protect the continuance of lobster fisheries, a law has been passed in many States prohibiting their sale unless at least ten inches long. ”

“ The winter fishing is generally carried on in the open sea, although in a few places, like Sheepscot Bay, the lobsters in winter retire to the deep waters of the bays and can there be caught. The pots are generally set in from 20 to 50 fathoms of water at this season.
Certain fishermen claim that when pots are set on a trawl placed across the tide the catch is greater than when the trawl is set in the direction of the current. In the former case, it is asserted, the scent or fine particles coming from the bait is more widely diffused and more apt to attract the lobsters. ”

“ As soon as a smack arrives it is moored directly alongside one of the cars. The lobsters are then dipped out of the well by means of long-handled scoop nets and thrown on the deck of the vessel. The doors of the car are then opened, and men on the vessel pick over the lobsters lying on the deck and toss them two by two into the different compartments, those dead and badly mutilated being thrown to one side for the time being. All vigorous lobsters above a certain size are placed in compartments of the car by themselves, while the weak and small are put in separate compartments. ”

“ It was impossible the lobster could have eaten it all in the interim, and the handle of a net revealed the fact that, upon the approach of the two smaller lobsters, the larger one had buried the flounder beneath a heap of shingle, on which he now mounted guard. Five times within two hours was the fish unearthed, and as often did the lobster shovel the gravel over it with his huge claws, each time ascending the pile and turning his bold defensive front to his companions. ”

“ In the market you can buy a lobster for one quarter to one-third the price charged in most restaurants. You can make sure he is alive—never buy a dead lobster, though they say he is safe to eat if his tail is curled and springs back when pulled. To kill him by plunging him in boiling water may seem cruel, but is no more so than other ways, and is certainly infinitely less so than the usual way—which should be forbidden—of letting him perish slowly in a barrel, or on ice. ”

“ There was no talk then of short lobsters, nor of extravagant prices, for nine pence, or twelve and a half cents in the currency of the time, would buy a three or four pound lobster. The scarcity and small size of this delicious shell fish in our day have not been satisfactorily explained. I am inclined to think that the cause is not to be found in the excessive amount of their catch, but in the appearance on our shores, and the increasing numbers, of the tautog, which not only exhausts the food, which the lobster feeds upon, but also feeds on the lobster itself. ”

“ Very large lobsters are not the best, the meat being coarse and tough. The male is best for boiling; the flesh is firmer and the shell a brighter red. It may readily be distinguished from the female; [Pg 69] the tail is narrower, and the two uppermost fins within the tail are stiff and hard. Those of the hen lobster are not so, and the tail is broader.
Hen lobsters are preferred for sauce or salad, on account of their coral. The head and small claws are never used.
They should be alive and freshly caught when put into the boiling kettle. ”

“ Our prey is secured by throwing a net, in the meshes of which the lobster becomes entangled; but should this prove ineffectual, a long pole forked at one end is thrust over the creature's hard back, and as he struggles to free himself from the pronged embrace, a nimble negro dives into the water and captures him alive. Great excitement prevails when a lobster comes on board, and bounds among our crew and passengers. ”

“ Needless to say, the Lobster always finds a secure retreat before casting off his protecting coat of armour. A hole under a rock suits him well at that time. Strange to say, he seems to dislike his old clothes, and often crunches them to pieces or eats them up, or even pushes them under the sand or stones! Then he marches out like a proud warrior, knowing his strength, and the power of his great claws.
Lobsters are fond of fighting, and must be very disagreeable neighbours. ”