44 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



Methods of Collecting Seed. — Where the small clams can be found 

 in great abundance there is no difficulty in procuring seed by the 

 use of large sieves. In three of the four seasons in which we have 

 sought such places in Narragansett Bay, they have been found. 

 The year 1902 was an exception, and no very large sets were found, 

 although the shores were carefully examined. The best time for 

 collecting such seed is from the middle of July to the first of Sep- 

 tember. If the spat collectors, so successful in the small experi- 

 ments, succeed on a large scale, an unlimited supply of seed can be 

 secured in this way. 



It is, of course, by no means unprofitable to plant clams of larger 

 size, if the smaller ones cannot be obtained. 



Methods of Caring for Seed Clams. — From the time the clams are 

 dug until they are planted again they are best kept out of water, in 

 thin layers to allow ventilation, and they should not, of course, be 

 exposed to the sun. If they are small, they should not be allowed 

 to become too dry, for it is not only actually injurious, but the 

 much dried specimens will float away on the surface of the water. 

 They can be kept well in moist sea weed. 



At first thought it would seem to be better to keep them in fresh 

 seawater, if possible in cars, but experiments show that the clams 

 kept in this way burrow far less rapidly. Above all it is important 

 to plant the clams as soon as possible after they have been dug; if 

 they are kept, even for a day or two, they begin to lose, very notice- 

 ably, their power of burrowing. 



Soil. — Clams wall live and thrive in nearly every kind of soil; 

 sticky mud and shifting sand, of course, must be avoided. In 

 stony ground the shells are apt to become badly contorted, 

 and even in gravelly soil the shells usually grow heavy and are 

 marred by numerous so-called growth rings. These rings are pro- 

 duced Ijy the wearing off of the thin edge of the shell; and in gravel, 

 especially, if the clams are from time to time disturbed, this often 

 occurs. Similar rings have been repeatedly produced artificially 

 by running a file over the edge of the shell and then planting the 



