(12) Taking all things into consideration, the sexes appear about equally divided, though the relative numbers caught in certain places at certain times of the year may be remarkably variable.

   (13) Molting commonly occurs from June to September, but there
   is no month of the year in which soft lobsters may not be
   caught.

   (14) The male probably molts oftener than the female.

(15) In the adult female the molting like the spawning period is a biennial one, but the two periods are one year apart.  As a rule, the female lays her eggs in July, carries them until the following summer, when they hatch; then she molts.  Possibly a second molt may occur in the fall, winter, or spring, but it is not probable, and molting just before the production of new eggs is rare.

   (16) The egg-bearing female, with eggs removed, weighs less
   than the female of the same length without eggs.

   (17) The new shell becomes thoroughly hard in the course of
   from six to eight weeks, the length of time requisite for this
   varying with the food and other conditions of the animal.

(18) The young, after hatching, cut loose from their mother, rise to the surface of the ocean, and, lead a free life as pelagic larvae.  The first larva is about one-third of an inch long (7.84 mm).  The swimming period lasts from six to eight weeks, or until the lobster has molted five or at most six times, and is three-fifths of an inch long, when it sinks to the bottom.  It now travels toward the shore, and, if fortunate, establishes itself in the rock piles of inlets of harbors, where it remains until driven out by ice in the fall or early winter.  The smallest, now from 1 to 3 inches long, go down among the loose stones which are often exposed at low tides.  At a later period, when 3 to 4 inches long, they come out of their retreats and explore the bottom, occasionally hiding or burrowing under stones.  Young lobsters have also been found in eelgrass and on sandy bottoms in shallow water.

(19) The food of the larva consists of minute pelagic organisms.  The food of the older and adult stages is largely of animal origin with but slight addition of vegetable material, consisting chiefly of fish and invertebrates of various kinds.  The large and strong also prey upon the small and weak.

(20) The increase in length at each molt is about 15.3 per cent.  During the first year the lobster molts from 14 to 17 times.  At 10-1/2 inches the lobster has molted 25 to 26 times and is about 5 years old.

As the purpose of this article is to deal more particularly with the commercial side of the lobster question all interested more particularly in the natural history of the animal are referred to the following works: 

   The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States,
   sec.  I, pp. 780-812.