hatching of a single brood lasts about a week, owing to the
slightly unequal rate of development of individual eggs.

(11) The hatching period varies also with the time of
egg-laying, lobsters having rarely been known to hatch in
November and February.

(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