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  REPOET 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  carried 
  on 
  only 
  since 
  1894, 
  and 
  that 
  notwithstanding 
  greater 
  efforts 
  

   were 
  made 
  to 
  obtain 
  eggs, 
  the 
  output 
  for 
  the 
  last 
  live 
  3^ears 
  of 
  the 
  

   decade 
  was 
  much 
  less 
  than 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  live: 
  

  

  Lobster 
  fry 
  planted. 
  

  

  While 
  it 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  doubted 
  that 
  these 
  efforts 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  

   have 
  been 
  beneficial, 
  they 
  have 
  not 
  done 
  more 
  than 
  retard 
  the 
  decline, 
  

   and 
  recently 
  the 
  lobster 
  catch 
  in 
  certain 
  sections 
  has 
  been 
  so 
  reduced 
  

   that 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  eggs 
  for 
  hatching 
  purposes 
  has 
  greatly 
  fallen 
  off, 
  

   and 
  the 
  conditions 
  have 
  become 
  most 
  serious. 
  

  

  Artificial 
  hatching 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  scale 
  is 
  a 
  comparatively 
  simple 
  matter, 
  

   but 
  the 
  rearing 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  lobsters 
  through 
  their 
  defenseless 
  larval 
  

   stages 
  to 
  the 
  age 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  able 
  to 
  take 
  care 
  of 
  themselves 
  is 
  a 
  

   problem 
  which 
  has 
  repeatedly 
  been 
  considered 
  by 
  fish-culturists 
  and 
  

   biologists, 
  but 
  appeared 
  to 
  present 
  insurmountable 
  difficulties, 
  as 
  all 
  

   attempts 
  to 
  retain 
  the 
  fry 
  in 
  the 
  hatchery 
  for 
  any 
  length 
  of 
  time 
  

   proved 
  futile, 
  the 
  mortality 
  being 
  astonishingly 
  rapid. 
  The 
  larvs 
  

   were 
  therefore 
  planted 
  immediately 
  after 
  hatching. 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  apparent 
  to 
  the 
  Commission 
  for 
  years 
  that 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  

   lobster 
  cultivation 
  would 
  be 
  vastly 
  more 
  effective 
  if 
  some 
  method 
  

   could 
  be 
  devised 
  for 
  rearing 
  comparatively 
  large 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  

   young, 
  and, 
  as 
  this 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  most 
  practicable 
  form 
  of 
  aid 
  to 
  

   the 
  lobster 
  fishery 
  which 
  could 
  be 
  rendered 
  by 
  the 
  general 
  govern- 
  

   ment, 
  it 
  was 
  determined 
  to 
  renew 
  the 
  experiments, 
  this 
  decision 
  being 
  

   influenced 
  by 
  some 
  success 
  in 
  lobster 
  roaring 
  on 
  a 
  small 
  scale 
  achieved 
  

   by 
  Dr. 
  H. 
  (3. 
  Bumpus 
  at 
  the 
  Woods 
  Hole 
  laboratory 
  in 
  1898. 
  

  

  THE 
  SOFT-SHELL 
  CLAM, 
  

  

  Next 
  to 
  the 
  lobster, 
  this 
  clam 
  was 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  product 
  of 
  the 
  

   shore 
  fisheries 
  demanding 
  attention, 
  and 
  the 
  Commission 
  determined 
  

   to 
  acquire 
  a 
  more 
  thorough 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  breeding 
  habits, 
  time 
  of 
  

   sexual 
  maturity, 
  food, 
  rate 
  of 
  growth, 
  enemies, 
  etc., 
  as 
  a 
  necessary 
  

   preliminary 
  to 
  the 
  institution 
  of 
  measures 
  for 
  increasing 
  the 
  supplj^ 
  

   During 
  recent 
  years 
  the 
  soft-shell 
  clam 
  has 
  been 
  rapidly 
  diminishing 
  

   in 
  numbers 
  on 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  coast, 
  and 
  prices 
  for 
  both 
  food 
  and 
  

   bait 
  clams 
  have 
  at 
  times 
  been 
  very 
  high. 
  The 
  scarcity 
  has 
  been 
  par- 
  

  

  