REPORT OF STATE BIOLOGIST. 



No. !•, full of ripe sperm. 

 No. 10. full of ripe sperm. 

 June 22, 1899.— Eight clams examined. 



No. -. female which had spawned. 

 No. 3, female which had spawned. 

 No. 4. female which had spawned. 

 No. 5, female which had spawned. 

 No. s. female which had spawned. 

 No. 1. male which had spawned. 

 No. 6, male which had spawned. 

 No. 7, male which had spawned. 



I use the terra •"spawned"" for both sexes. The specimens 

 were all lank, had discharged their genitive product-. Would 

 be called "poor" by fishermen. 



The July examination was omitted because of ] -- work 

 connected with oyster investigations. 



Ausr. i;. 1899.— Ten clams examined. 



No. 1. male with sperm. 



No. 3, male with sperm. 



>"<>. 5, male with sperm. 



No. 7. male with sperm. 



No. 8. male with sperm. 



No. .. female with a i>-^v ripe eggs. 



No. -). female with a few ripe e^a-. 



No. 6, female with a few ripe eggs. 



No. In. female with, a few ripe e._r^. 



N< i. •'. a" results. 



These specimens all looked "lank" or poor, and the scarcity 

 of eggs would make it appear that tin- spawning season was 

 practically over. 



Sept. — , 1899'.— Batch of clams examined. Veryfewwitl 51 erm. 



Oct. 13, 1899.— Out of a hatch received on this date, very few were found with eggs; evi- 

 dent lv way past spawning. 

 Nov. and Dec. 1899.— No results. 



From the results of the above examination- it is verj 

 dent that the bulk of the spawning i- during April and May. 

 for it was during that time that I found them full of genera- 

 tive products. June examination showed that they had 

 finished spawning. A few eggs were found in August, it is 



1 — — — 



true, but so few as to indicate that the spawning - - was 

 long over. In no case were ova and sperm found in the same 

 individual: in other word- I sexes are distinct. The de- 

 velopment of tin- species has never been studied. While it 

 i- not of interest economically, it is of sufficient scientific im- 

 portance to invite investigation on the part of a biologist. 



DEDUCTIONS A- TO PROTECTIVE MEASURES. 



It is evident from the above that should the razor clam 

 need legal protection, the close season should be during April 

 and May. or possibly from March 15 to June 15. thereby 

 giving them everv advantage of variation in seasons. 



