REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. Dili 
very briefly summarize some of the results which have been found 
of special service because of their practical application. 
SuMMARY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
The breeding season was found to be, for the most part, in June, 
though it begins in May and ends in July. Clams spawn to some 
extent also in other months, but in comparatively small numbers. 
In the early spring (April) a meagre set is sometimes found, which, 
from the uniform size of the specimens, seems to represent a 
definite breeding season, probably in the late autumn. This set 
is so sparse that it can hardly be considered to be of any economic 
importance. (Report for 1899, page 23; report for 1900, pages 22 
and 23.) 
The sexes of the clam are separate. The eggs are of micro- 
scopic size and are laid in inconceivably great numbers wherever 
adult clams abound, being extruded without any means of protec- 
tion into the sea-water, where they are fertilized. The young larvze 
which develop from these eggs are swimming animals of micro- 
scopic size also, and are carried by the tides and scattered in every 
direction until, after a period of several days (the exact duration 
is not known), they strike upon some object like sea-weed, stones, 
or the ground itself, and become attached by an apparatus ex- 
actly comparable to the anchor-threads of the common mussel. 
But, although the spat is everywhere present in the water, the 
density of the set along the shore is very unequally distributed ; 
so that in one area the little clams may be found in great abun- 
dance, while in other areas, not far off, very few are to be found. It 
is also true that these areas which are most favorable for catching. 
the spat are often not favorable for the future growth of the clams. 
The significance of these peculiarities of the young clam for the 
future of the clam industry cannot be overestimated. (Report 
for 1899, pages 23 to 27.) 
The problem of the rate of growth of the clams after they have 
set has received a large amount of attention, on account of its 
