622 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



they may be dug- easily; but, when other conditions are good, clams 

 grow equally well in gravelly or even rocky beaches. They are fre- 

 quently found, also, thickly set in hard clay. 



Unpublished observations show that certain definite conditions 

 of the soil must be present in all these cases, and these conditions, 

 too, are exact. Clams will not grow on every bottom; but enough 

 has been said to indicate that soils of various kinds often are suit- 

 able for growth. One of the things about which the clam culturist 

 need concern himself least is a bottom on which to plant his clams. 



5 Collection of clams for planting*. In almost all cases this should 

 be an easy matter, and this fact is, of course, one of the greatest 

 importance. It is one of the greatest difficulties encountered in 

 oyster culture, and practically does not exist here. 



On larger clam flats and beaches, great numbers of mature clams 

 usually exist among the thatch plants. These are undisturbed on 

 account of the difficulty in digging them. They give rise to many 

 embryos which eventually appear in favorable localities in great 

 numbers. Extensive flats always reveal patches of bottom, some- 

 times covering acres, where clams one or two inches long are 

 packed too closely to grow, except at a very slow rate, from lack of 

 sufficient food. When these small clams are dug and scattered 

 over a larger area, they grow with great rapidity. Clams from these 

 crowded beds may be had at any time of the year. 



In addition to this supply, there appear in certain seasons great 

 numbers of small clams below the low water mark. They are so 

 closely crowded that, on those beds that have been studied, nearly 

 all seem to die before the end of the summer. Though they appear 

 only in certain years, and then on restricted spots, where currents 

 are swift, their numbers are so great that they can be gathered from 

 the surface almost in a solid mass and spread over large tracts. As 

 has been shown, they are tenacious of life, and, when under water, 

 will cover themselves in four or five minutes if conditions are favor- 

 able. 



Observations extending over a considerable coast line, the details 

 of which can not be given here, indicate that little trouble would be 

 encountered in obtaining abundant material for planting. 



