Conclusions 



Juvenile clams have a true voluntary wandering habit that persists for some time 

 after they are able to burrow, or until they reach a length of at least one half inch 

 (12-13 mm.). This movement is extensive enough to have an important bearing on tlie 

 number of clams that will mature in any one place, and it must be taken into account 

 in any assessment or management of clam flats. 



Experiments with "spat catchers" have demonstrated that small clams can be 

 collected and protected until they grow to over 25 mm. by placing plastic screening 

 on the flat, provided the soil is stable and conditions are otherwise suitable for clams. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Baptist, John P. 



1955. Burrowing ability of juvenile clams. U.S. Fish and Wildlife 



Service, Spec. Sci. Rept., Fish. No. 140: pp. 1-13. 



Kellogg, James L. 



1901 . Observations on the life-history of the common cl?m, Mya arenaria . 



U. S. Fish. Comm., Ball. vol. 19, pp. 193-202. 



1905. Conditions governing existence and gro'vth of the soft clam, ( Mya 



arenaria). U. S. Comm. Fish and Fisheries, Rept. of Comm. 

 for 1903, pp. 195-224. 



Smith, Osgood R., J. P. Baptist, andE. Chin. 



1955. Experimental farming of the soft clam in Massachusetts 1949-54. 



Commercial Fisheries Reviev/ (in press) . 



Turner, Harry J., Jr. 



1949. Report on investigations of methods of improving the shellfish 



of Massachusetts. Mass. Dept. Consv., Div. Mar. Fish. 

 22 pp. 



82786 



