178 Tzvciity-iiiiith A)i)iiial Meeting 



free-swimming forms with little resemblance to the adults. In 

 this condition they live an active life and are carried hither and 

 thither by the tides for several days at least before they settle 

 down to the bottom or attach themselves to some object like a 

 stone or piece of sea-weed. The obvious result of this method 

 of reproduction is that the young clams do not remain where 

 the eggs are laid but are very widely distributed by the tides. 

 This fact readily explains the sudden appearance of a large set of 

 clams in a locality where the adults are scarce. It is not at all 

 unlikely, moreover, that the clams below tide-mark, and out of 

 reach of their human enemy, produce a large proportion of the 

 clams which set on the shore. 



6. In the manner of setting, and in the peculiar character- 

 istics of the young clams after they have set, there are two facts 

 which wall prove of the greatest service in clam culture, (i). The 

 clam set is not evenly distributed even in regions of the Bay 

 where the water is full of the fre'C-swimming young, but in some 

 localities the set is extremely thick while in neighboring local- 

 ities, a few rods distant, only a small number may be foimd. (2). 

 Tlie young clams, from ons-fourth to one-half an inch long, have 

 a remarkable capacity for burrowing, a capacity which is greatly 

 diminished as the animal grows larger. At the proper season, 

 therefore, and in the localities where the set is thick, the clams 

 can easily be collected in immense numbers by means of a 

 sieve; and fortunately the time when they can be collected with 

 the least difficulty happens to be the very best time for trans- 

 planting. By far the best time for collecting and transplanting 

 is from the first week in July to the first or second w^eek in 

 August. It is hundreds of times easier to collect them at this 

 season by means of a sieve than at other times of the year with 

 a clam-hoe. There is perhaps even a greater advantage in trans- 

 planting at this time, from the fact that the clams can now be 

 sowed broadcast like grain and will soon burrow into the sand; 

 whereas, larger specimens from one inch upwards must neces- 

 sarily be planted and carefully covered or a great loss will result. 

 An additional fact in favor of transplanting at this time is that 



