6l6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Our chief conclusion must be that in most localities along the 

 shore of Long Island the supply is now failing rapidly, and,' unless 

 these methods of artificial propagation are introduced, must soon 

 fail completely. 



Life history of M y a the soft clam 



I have briefly traced the condition in which we find the soft 

 clam industry at the present time, not only in New England, but in 

 New York. We may now consider the question of a remedy for 

 the disagreeable situation which confronts us. If we continue to 

 depend simply on the natural powers of reproduction and recupera- 

 tion of this form, we shall certainly soon see the end of the large 

 supply on which we have so long depended. Fortunately there 

 seems to be a way to meet the difificulty, and not only recover the 

 original supply, but produce one even larger. 



It has already been shown that, before it is possible to develop 

 culture methods for the artificial rearing of any form, it is neces- 

 sary to possess a knowledge of its habits, the character of its food, 

 its relations to its enemies — in short, as complete an account as 

 possible of its life history. 



It is a curious, but common experience to find that we still lack 

 such a knowledge of some of the most familiar animal forms. In a 

 general way, we have for many years known something of the struc- 

 ture of the common clam, and something also of the character of 

 its food. Till 1898, however, almost nothing whatever was known 

 of its life historv^, including the hmits of the breeding season, the 

 habits of the young and the relations of the animal to its surround- 

 ings. In that year a study of the form was made in order, 

 primarily, that the knowledge obtained might be applied in the 

 elaboration of methods of artificial propagation. Since that time, 

 many experiments, the results of which are not yet published, have 

 been carried on for the United States fish commission, and have 

 shown that the culture of the soft clam may easily and successfully 

 be accomplished on a large scale. It may be noticed that we are 

 still without knowledge of the life histories of the hard clam and the 

 scallop, though the present necessity seems to demand it. 



What we know of the life and habits of M y a may be summarized 

 briefly. 



