Lobsters must be marketed in a live or boiled condition; and as
fishermen can get better prices for them alive than boiled, each
fisherman generally has a live-car in which to hold them until they
can be sold. These cars are usually oblong, rectangular boxes, with
open seams or numerous small holes to permit the free circulation of
the water. They are of various sizes, according to the needs of the
fisherman, a good average being about 6 feet long by 4 feet wide and
about 2 feet deep. The door is placed on the top. They are usually
moored close to the shore during the fishing season, the rest of the
time being hauled up on the beach.
[Illustration: Fishermen's lobster cars]
The dealers cars are very similar to those used by the fishermen, only
much larger. They generally average about 30 feet in length, 12 feet
in width; and 3 feet in depth, with capacity for from 2,000 to 3,000
lobsters. The inner part of this car is usually divided off into
five transverse compartments by means of a framework inside. Each
compartment is provided with two large doors entering from the top,
one door on each side of the middle line of the car. These cars cost
the dealers about $70 each. The life of one of these cars is about
five or six years, although at the end of about three years it is
generally necessary to replace the sides of the car on account of the
ravages of a dock worm which is quite abundant along the Maine coast.
When new the top of the car is usually about a foot above the water,
but as it gets water-soaked it sinks down until it is even with the
water, and some of the older cars have to be buoyed up with kegs
at each end, placed inside, to prevent them from sinking below the
surface. These cars are moored alongside the docks of the dealers at
Portland and Rockland and other points.
[Illustration: Lobster cars used in the wholesale trade at Portland]
Mr. J. R. Burns, of Friendship, has invented and patented a new
style of car. The inside is divided into a series of compartments by
horizontal and vertical partitions of slats, wire netting, or any
material which will permit the free circulation of the water. Each
compartment has a chute extending down into it from the top, by means
of which the lobsters can be put in and their food given them. There
are also conveniently arranged openings, with doors, through which the
lobsters may be removed when desired. These cars usually average about
35 feet in length, 18 feet in width, and 6 feet in depth, and have a
capacity for about 5,000 lobsters each. They are in use at Rockland,
Friendship, Tremont, and Jonesport. They prevent the lobsters from
huddling together and thus killing each other by their own weight.