OF MASSACHUSETTS. 9 



fact that the subject-matter of the report is largely technical in char- 

 acter, renders it doubly hard to present the material in clear and com- 

 prehensive form. As the investigations were primarily designed for 

 the benefit of the fisherman, the terms as far as possible will be those 

 used by the practical seacoast inhabitants, while the report is arranged 

 so that sections which are purely scientific may be omitted without 

 impairing the value of the whole paper. Whenever a scientific or collo- 

 quial name is used in the text the common name is either given with it 

 or a more complete definition is appended in the glossary. 



The circumstances which led to the legislative act authorizing the 

 investigation were briefly as follows: In the years previous to 1905 the 

 scallop industry, while still an important source of winter revenue for 

 the southern coast towns of Massachusetts, manifested signs of serious 

 decline, especially in the Buzzard's Bay region. A natural resource of 

 sufficient importance to bring into the Commonwealth a yearly revenue 

 of nearly $150,000 could not be neglected, and the result was that the 

 Legislature directed the Department of Fisheries and Game to study 

 methods of improving the scallop fishery. The laws which were at that 

 time in force were based on very defective knowledge of the life history 

 and habits of the scallop, and it early became apparent that a knowledge 

 of these important points was essential for proper legislation for the 

 conservation of the industry. It' is earnestly hoped that an immediate 

 result of this investigation will be the passage of suitable legislation for 

 the preservation of the scallop fishery. 



Object. The aim of this report is to publish all known facts about 

 the life and habits of the scallop, and to show their proper bearing 

 upon the present fishery. At the beginning of the investigation certain 

 important questions of a practical nature presented themselves. 



(1) Is the scallop supply of Massachusetts in danger of extermina- 

 tion ? If so, how can this be avoided ? 



(2) Is the present protective legislation based on accurate knowledge 

 of the life and habits of the scallop? 



(3) Can the scallop be propagated artificially? 



(4) How can the present industry be increased? 



In order to obtain satisfactory answers to these questions it was 

 found necessary to obtain information upon : 



(1) The distribution and range of the scallop. 



(2) The anatomy and its relation to the habits of the animal. 



(3) The spawning, reproduction, early life history and propagation. 



(4) The habits of the young and of the adult. 



(5) The rate of growth and length of life. 



(6) The scallop fishery, its present extent and possibilities. 

 Presentation. Information on the above points, as completely as 



possible, is presented in the following pages, each topic in the form 

 of a chapter; and the practical bearing on the four questions is con- 

 sidered whenever feasible under each subject, and is summarized in the 



