REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. Lai 
cal nature, which will be retained by the Commission until ready 
for publication. 
7. EXPERIMENTS TO TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF CLAM-CULTURE. 
Mindful of the alarming decrease in the number of clams an- 
nually taken from the shores of the State, your Commissioners 
have begun a series of investigations to test the feasibility of 
clam-culture. It was the purpose to prepare certain tracts of the 
shore line, and to plant small clams under varying conditions, to 
the end that we might know their rate of growth and secure data 
that might enable us to proceed more intelligently and more 
effectually the coming season; or, if convinced of the impractica- 
bility of clam-culture, to divert our energies in other directions. 
Inasmuch as the laws of the State do not provide for the pre- 
emption of any portion of the shore for this or similar lines of 
work, and since the experiments might come to an untimely end 
at the hand of those who claim a right to all portions of the shore 
line, your Commission thought it best to conduct the experiments 
on tracts of land controlled by the United States government, 
where trespassing could be prevented, and where a general super- 
vision of the grounds could be maintained during the winter 
months without expense to the State. 
Seventy-one plats, each containing one hundred square feet, 
were selected at four localities, the places chosen being selected 
because of their extreme physical differences. One had a hard 
eravelly bottom, covered at high tide by water containing debris 
and refuse material from various sources. The second locality 
was partially covered by large rocks more or less imbedded in a 
hard mud almost like clay. The third point selected for observa- 
tion was a locality where clams had once abounded, and where a 
few still remained. The soil was a loose muddy sand of dark 
color, relatively free from stones and refuse material. None of 
the clams found on this bed were less than two and a half inches 
in length, and were of the thick-shelled variety, evidently of slow 
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