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it occurs, as previously stated, in company with the hard-shell cockle 

 {Chione) witli which it appears in the Los Angeles markets. 



The methods used in collecting the clam are simple. On the beds 

 in Humboldt Bay they are lirought to the surface by the liooks that 

 are used for the Washington clam, Saxidomus. Elsewhere they are 

 dug with either spades, forks, hoes or short blades of steel, as happens 

 to be convenient. In the beds open to the ocean the clams congregate 

 in the small depressions or basins in the beds, seemingly because of tlie 

 presence of water there during ebb tides. A skillful digger watches 

 for such "pot-holes," and observes closely the presence of the material 

 voided by the clam, which is usually to be seen wherever clams are 

 present and sufficient time has elapsed since the disturl)ance of the 

 water. In such places, a foot or two square, it is possible to collect 

 as many as two dozen good sized clams, lying so close together that 

 their valves touch. In the beds in the bays this distribution is perhaps 

 not so obvious, but is still an aid to the digger. "When not to be shipped 

 immediately, the clams are frequently buried until wanted, under 

 gravel in a place on which a slight amount of water stands but which 

 is easily accessible, or they are placed in floating boxes. 



fThe rock cockle is extensively used in Eureka, being preferred in 

 some cases to any other species (W. F. T.. 1910). At Crescent City 

 the Indians occasionally peddle them, and the inhabitants and summer 

 campers frequently gather messes for themselves. All tlie beds outside 

 of Humboldt Bay are utilized in this fashion by occasional diggers, 

 but at Bodega Bay they are dug for the market to some extent. As 

 noted above, the greater part of the clams of this species in the San 

 Francisco markets are gathered in Tomales Bay. In 1911, as many as 

 fourteen people were employed there, some of them Indian squaws. 

 From a bucket to a half sack was gathered by each during a good low 

 tide, and traded for groceries at the local stores. From these the 

 clams were shipped to market. About ninety sacks, averaging eighty 

 pounds each, were shipped by express each month, a quantity which 

 represented about 75 per cent of the clams taken from Tomales Bay. 



The future of the beds is difficult to foresee. 'If, as seems probable, 

 the species is found extensively below low tide line, the likelihood of 

 exhaustion is lessened. On the outer coast it is unlikely that commer- 

 cial digging will at any time be carried on in all the beds, and there 

 are so many scattered individuals in small beds as to render their 

 extinction difficult. The importance of these widely scattered small 

 beds as centers of distribution of species is obvious. The temper of 

 the inhabitants of every region is uniformly in favor of protection of 

 the beds as a local attraction,, especially those on the outer coast line. 



The real danger of depletion is in the bays. Tomales Bay seemed, 

 at the time of the investigation (W. F. T., 1910), to have been exploited 

 to the fullest possible extent. The size of the clams found there was 

 very small, the average length being but three-fifths that of the same 

 species in Humboldt Bay, Bodega Bay and the outer coast line beds. 

 Circumstantial reports as to the former large size of the clams were 

 easily obtainable from storekeepers, diggers and local inhabitants. 

 When an exceptionally low tide occurred, very large clams were to be 



