Hdibic Mollitsca of the Orci:;oit Coast 183 



beaches south of TiUaniook Head, a satisfactory cause fur which 

 has not been ascertained. It is very probable that many influences 

 contributed to this depletion. The changing- character of the 

 beaches niav account for its total extermination in certain locali- 

 ties. Some beds of clams of considerable extent are known to 

 have been either (lestro}'ed or forced to migrate into deeper water 

 by the sand in which they lived being washed away by the action 

 of the waves, while others may have been smothered l)y the sud- 

 den addition of sand. Continual digging together with possible 

 unfavorable spawning seasons may, in other instances, have 

 depleted the species. 



That the razor clam has never been wholly extinct in recent 

 }ears south of Tillamook Head is evidenced by the fact that a 

 few individuals have been taken each year in scattered localities 

 along the coast. Whether the clam is able to migrate and estab- 

 lish itself in deep water below the line of low tide wdien unsuit- 

 able conditions arise in the more shallow water of the littoral zone 

 is at the present time unknown. 



During the summer of 1919 it was apparent that the razor 

 clam was increasing- in nunibers at certain points along the Oregon 

 coast, and its reappearance was noted in several localities where 

 it had not been observed for a number of years. Reaches south 

 of Tillamook Head from which the razor clam has been taken in 

 small numbers during the past two or three years are located 

 as follows: north of Netarts Bay; within Xetarts Bay; between 

 Xetarts Bay and Cape Lookout ( Figure 1 ) ; north of Yaquina 

 Head; Agate Beach; between Yaquina and .Vlsea Bays; north of 

 Heceta Head and north of the mouth of the Siuslaw River. Pos- 

 sibly the species may have been taken at other, unreported points. 

 The next few years may see this valuable clam establishing itself 

 in increasing numl^ers on certain lieaches where it was once very 

 abundant. In such localities it shotdcl be unmolested for a year 

 or two in order that it n-iay increase in such numbers as to 

 assure a stability of the species. 



A state law prohil)iting- the shipnient of clams from Clatstip 

 County during the period from June 20th to September 20th of 

 each year has been in efifect for a number of years. This restric- 

 tion d<^es not. iii the oi)inion of the writer, and apparenth' was not 



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