REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 45 



clam; and the same principle applies to the notched clams de- 

 scribed on page 54. 



Method of Planting. — At this point there are many things which 

 must be taken into consideration; the size and condition of the 

 clams, the kind of soil, the time of day, time of tide, etc. The main 

 point in planting is to get the largest possible proportion of the clams 

 well installed in their burrows, with heads down and in firm soil. 

 The method of sowing clams on the surface has been tried with a 

 good degree of success, especially in the case of small clams meas- 

 uring up to an inch, more or less, in length. Experiments tabulated 

 on pages 47 and 64 represent very well the usual result of the sowing 

 method. It will be seen by consulting this table that much depends 

 upon the condition of the soil and upon the condition of the 

 clams. The method has two distinct advantages; first, it is very 

 rapid, and, second, when the clams have burrowed, they are in their 

 proper position. 



The advisability of loosening the soil before sowing is in some 

 cases, perhaps, doubtful. Certainly the clams burrow more rapidly ; 

 but on the other hand some soils are made rather soft and watery 

 when they are dug over and require considerable time to become 

 firm again. In such cases the clams are more easily reached by 

 predaceous crabs and eels, and washed out by the waves. 



Teniperature. — In cold weather the clams, like many other cold 

 blooded animals, are torpid, and they burrow more slowly than usual, 

 and sometimes not at all. Of a bushel of small clams, three-quar- 

 ters of an inch in length, which were sowed on a cold day about the 

 first of November, 1903, only very few burrowed during the first 

 hour, most of them remaining on top of the ground until nearly 

 noon the next day, when, as the weather became warmer, they be- 

 gan to burrow. 



Time of Day and Time of Tide. — Clams sown with the rising tide 

 have the advantage of an immediate chance to burrow, whereas 

 those sown on the bare ground rarely succeed in burrowing until 

 the tide has risen and covered them. It is not advisable to plant 



