lobster by the carapace with his right hand, bends the tail up under
the body with his left hand, and quickly deposits it in the barrel.
The packer usually has his right hand covered with a woolen mitt or
wrapped in a long piece of linen, for protection from the claws of the
lobster.

When the barrel is nearly full the lobsters are covered with a little
seaweed or large-leaved marine plants, and the rest of the space is
filled with cracked ice. The top is then covered with a piece of
sacking, which is secured under the upper hoop of the barrel. Packed
in this way, lobsters have easily survived a trip as far west as St.
Louis.

Owing to the high prices realized in England for live lobsters,
attempts have been made to ship live American lobsters to that market,
generally from Canadian ports. In 1877 Messrs. John Marston & Sons, of
Portland, made a trial shipment of 250. They were placed in a large
tank 20 feet long by 8 feet wide and 3 feet deep, and constantly
supplied with fresh seawater through six faucets by means of a donkey
engine, a waste-pipe preventing any overflow. The trip was fairly
successful, as only 50 died, and the balance brought from 60 to 75
cents per pound.

The smacks and dealers buy lobsters by count, as the fishermen
generally have no facilities for weighing them; but the dealers always
sell by weight. The mortality among the lobsters from the time they
are put aboard the smacks until they are barreled for shipment is
estimated at about 5 per cent.