THE CLAM PROBLEM AND CLAM CULTURE. 
By JAMES L. KELLOGG, 
Professor of Biology in Williams College. 
At the present day the public seems to recognize quite fully the value of the work 
of our fish commissions — State and national. They know that through the artificial 
rearing of young shad from the egg the United States Fish Commission has saved 
our shad industry on the Atlantic coast from inevitable ruin. They have also seen 
the direct benefit, in thousands of instances, of the stocking of inland streams and 
lakes with fish which have been hatched and cared for until they were old and strong 
enough to care for themselves. There does not, however, seem to be so general an 
appreciation of the fact that the shellfish — the oysters, clams, and scallops — of our 
eastern coast also need to be very carefully conserved in the immediate future. For 
some years past there has been considerable study and discussion of the artificial 
methods of oyster propagation, and in some of the North Atlantic States, especially 
Rhode Island and Connecticut, “oyster farming” has been the means of saving the 
industry. But the oyster question is not yet solved, and much remains to be done in 
the development of new methods of artificial propagation, if the supply is to meet the 
increased demands of the future. The appropriations for State and national commis- 
sions are much too small to allow extended investigations along these lines, though 
public money could probably not be expended with better results to the whole people 
than in this way. 
Quite unexpectedly we are confronted with a new problem. Over the greater 
part of the iNew England coast the supply of clams has suddenly diminished to an 
extent which has become alarming. Extensive areas which four or five years ago 
produced great numbers of clams are now practically barren. The explanation is 
simply that the demand has increased at such a rate that too large a number of the 
natural “seed” clams have been removed, and extinction suddenly follows. The beds 
should recover themselves quickly, but one man, in wandering day after day over 
au area of many acres thus impoverished, is easily able, by digging up the few large 
clams which he may find here and there, to absolutely prevent the possibility of 
establishing a new supply. Not only are the larger clams now sought for, but in 
some localities those which will measure little more than one inch in length are dug 
up and sent to market. The demand is increasing and prices are rising.* When a 
certain locality is exhausted, the amount taken from others still productive is conse 
Large clams sell in the Fulton market for 6 cents apiece. 
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