180 
be completed it will be put in form for 
publication. It appears that the growth 
is less rapid than has been supposed and 
that a considerable age is reached by the 
larger specimens met with. 
A eareful survey of the coast has forced 
the conclusion that few of the native 
species can be materially increased by 
artificial means, but that in certain su't- 
able bays the ‘farming’ of the introduced 
soft shell or long clam might be made very 
profitable. Its culture has passed the 
experimental state on the eastern coast 
and profiting by this experience many 
aeres of otherwise barren tide flats might 
be made to yield as sure and valuable a 
crop as a wheat field. It is hoped that in 
the future the question of the control of 
suitable tide lands may be put on as secure 
a basis as is the management of existing 
oyster lands, thus making such clam 
farming a practical possibility. 
KF. W. W. 
PROGRESS OF THE SARDINE WORK. 
The investigation of the sardine fishery 
is being continued along lines laid down 
in previous publications in this magazine 
(Volume 6, No. 1, pp. 10-12), and in 
Fish Bulletin No. 2. Mr. Elmer Higgins 
has, during the past season, been mad¢ 
responsible for the carrying out of the 
program at San Pedro, while Mr. O. E. 
Sette has been, until ‘this last June, re- 
sponsible for the same at Monterey, both 
under the direction of Mr. W. F’. Thomp- 
son for the present. Mr. Sette, who is 
leaving this fall for a resumption of his 
college work, will continue his sardine 
work while at college. The principal at- 
tention of both of these workers has been 
concentrated on the discovery of the rate 
of growth through a study of the fre- 
quency of occurence of various sizes of 
fish, and the following of fluctuations in 
average size, sex, maturity, quality, ete., 
during the fishing season. In view of the 
importance of the sardine industry, some- 
what more attention is given to an ex- 
position of this work than is the case 
with the other fisheries with which we 
are dealing. 
The program under which the work has 
been done contemplates (1) the discovery 
of depletion if it should oceur; (2) the 
discovery of any great natural fluctua- 
tions in abundance or quality other than 
those due to overfishing; (8) the fore- 
CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 
telling of these fluctuations, which in other 
fisheries have at times caused great dam- 
age; (4) the deciphering of those habits 
of the species which are of importance to 
the canner and fisherman, such as migra- 
tion, and (5) a knowledge of such facts 
as will aid the legislator. The absolute 
completion of this program is without 
doubt well removed, but contributions to 
it of great value will be made in the very 
near future, enabling us to make at least 
provisional answers, a thing impossible 
now. Among these we may list the age 
and rate of growth, the breeding season, 
and the degree of independence of the 
sardines in different regions. That the 
foretelling of fluctuations is not visionary 
may be seen from the work of the Nor- 
wegian fishery authorities on the herring. 
The other elements of the outline given 
are dependent entirely upon the records 
we obtain—and we are acquiring the very 
best possible. 
A certain amount of preliminary work 
had been done by Mr. W. F. Thompson, 
assisted by A. W. Warnock and others 
before the inauguration of the present in- 
vestigations a year ago. In this prelimin- 
ary work the breeding season had been 
observed at San Pedro (as mentioned by 
Mr. Higgins below), a series of scales 
collected for the study of the age, and a 
set of careful observations made on the 
differences between the sardines from San 
Diego, San Pedro and Monterey. The 
latter observations, as bearing on the pos- 
sibility of the interdependence of the 
sardines in different regions, have been 
completed by Mr. Higgins in addition to 
his own work and reports on the con- 
clusions may be expected in the near 
future, 
PRESENT STATUS OF THE SARDINE 
INVESTIGATION IN THE 
SAN PEDRO DISTRICT. 
In the study of the sardine fishery, as 
distinct from that of the fish itself, the 
course of the run at San Pedro—the 
abundance or availability of the fish from 
day to day throughout the season—has 
been studied by analysis of the daily aver- 
age boat catch. ‘This was determined by 
tabulating and averaging the individual 
catches of each boat day by day, the data 
being obtained from the filed carbon copies 
of the original fish receipts issued by the 
eanners to the fishermen at the time of 
