﻿LOBSTER 
  AND 
  CLAM 
  INVESTIGATIONS. 
  

  

  145 
  

  

  ticularly 
  noteworthy 
  in 
  the 
  more 
  southern 
  sections 
  of 
  the 
  region, 
  and 
  

   grounds 
  that 
  had 
  for 
  years 
  been 
  productive 
  had 
  become 
  depleted, 
  so 
  

   that 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  longer 
  a 
  local 
  source 
  of 
  supply. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  statistics 
  do 
  not 
  suggest 
  an 
  especially 
  alarming 
  con- 
  

   dition 
  in 
  the 
  fishery, 
  but 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  remembered 
  that 
  the 
  increased 
  

   fishing 
  population 
  and 
  the 
  increased 
  demand 
  for 
  clams 
  between 
  1880 
  

   and 
  1902 
  should 
  have 
  resulted 
  in 
  a 
  steady 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  output. 
  

  

  Comparative 
  statistics 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  soft-dam 
  yield. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1898 
  Prof. 
  J. 
  L. 
  Kellogg 
  was 
  engaged 
  by 
  the 
  

   Commission 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  special 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  clam 
  in 
  Massachusetts 
  and 
  

   Rhode 
  Island, 
  and 
  as 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  his 
  inquiries 
  it 
  appeared 
  feasible'to 
  

   develop 
  a 
  method 
  of 
  clam 
  culture 
  applicable 
  to 
  commercial 
  conditions. 
  

  

  PERSONNEL 
  AND 
  PLANS 
  OF 
  THE 
  SPECIAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  It 
  having 
  been 
  demonstrated 
  that 
  the 
  ordinary 
  funds 
  available 
  for 
  

   the 
  biological 
  inquiries 
  of 
  the 
  Commission 
  were 
  not 
  ample 
  to 
  allow 
  

   for 
  the 
  prosecution 
  of 
  the 
  lobster 
  and 
  clam 
  experiments 
  on 
  a 
  suffi- 
  

   ciently 
  large 
  scale, 
  the 
  Commissioner 
  sought 
  relief 
  from 
  Congress, 
  

   and 
  the 
  urgent 
  deficiency 
  bill 
  approved 
  February 
  9, 
  1900, 
  carried 
  a 
  

   special 
  appropriation 
  of 
  $7,500 
  for 
  this 
  purpose. 
  

  

  The 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  investigations 
  and 
  experiments 
  was 
  placed 
  in 
  

   the 
  hands 
  of 
  a 
  special 
  commission, 
  created 
  by 
  the 
  Commissioner, 
  con- 
  

   sisting 
  of 
  Dr. 
  11. 
  C. 
  Bumpus, 
  chairman; 
  Dr. 
  H. 
  M. 
  Smith, 
  secretary; 
  

   Mr. 
  W. 
  de 
  C. 
  Ravenel, 
  and 
  Capt. 
  E. 
  E. 
  Hahn. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  labor 
  

   connected 
  with 
  the 
  planning 
  and 
  supervision 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  devolved 
  on 
  

   Doctor 
  Bumpus, 
  to 
  whom 
  more 
  than 
  to 
  any 
  other 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  Com- 
  

   mission 
  is 
  due 
  the 
  credit 
  for 
  the 
  methods 
  and 
  outcome 
  of 
  the 
  

   investigations. 
  

  

  Inasmuch 
  as 
  the 
  general 
  government 
  had 
  no 
  control 
  over 
  the 
  lob- 
  

   ster 
  and 
  clam 
  fisheries, 
  it 
  was 
  apparent 
  that 
  the 
  only 
  aid 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  

   practicable 
  for 
  the 
  Commission 
  to 
  give 
  was 
  (1) 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  obscure 
  

   points 
  in 
  the 
  life 
  histories 
  of 
  the 
  species, 
  (2) 
  the 
  determination 
  of 
  the 
  

   best 
  methods 
  of 
  increasing 
  the 
  supply, 
  (3) 
  the 
  dissemination 
  of 
  infor- 
  

   mation 
  on 
  the 
  foregoing 
  topics 
  among 
  the 
  fishing 
  population, 
  and 
  (1) 
  

   cultivation 
  of 
  the 
  species. 
  The 
  work 
  began 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1900 
  and 
  

  

  F. 
  C. 
  1903 
  10 
  

  

  