OBSEKVATIOXS OX THE SOFT-SHELL CLAM. 



{SECOXB PAPER.) 



A. D. Mead, Ph. D., 



BROWN UNIVERSITY, PROVIDENCE. R. I. 



Au account of the oliservations on the breeding- habits, rate of 

 growth under various conditions, of the hal)its of the young- before 

 and after setting-, and of the experiments made to ascertain the 

 possibilities of the artificial culture of clams, was given in the Re- 

 port of 1899, pp. 20-4:'2. In the course of the investigations re- 

 corded in the previous report, questions arose which could not at 

 that time be answered satisfactorily, and they were deferred to a 

 subsequent time. 



It is the purpose of the present paper, therefore, to record merely 

 the prog-ress made during- the past season Avithout reviewing- the 

 account of previous observations. 



The account will be given, as concisely as possible, in three 

 chapters, viz. : Breeding, Rate of Burrowing-, and Rate of Growth. 

 The contents of these are as follows : 



BREEDING. 



1. How old are the clams when they first breed? 



2. Is there a second breeding- season ? 



3. Is artificial fertilization of the clam possible and practic- 



al )le for obtaining- spat in quantity ? 



4. Do clams chang-e their sex as they grow older ? 



5. "What are the best methods for obtaining young- clams 



for planting? 



