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Humboldt Bay spits, and on those of Ten Mile River, near Fort 

 Bragg. Nevertheless, live clams eoiild not be found above low tide 

 line despite earnest search. 



Southern California: The razor clam to be found to the southward 

 of lilonterey Bay belongs to a different species, Siliqua lucida, although 

 its habits "and general appearance are the same. No distinction is 

 usually made. 



It is a common form on the wide sand beaches of the outer coast. 

 It is especially abundant on the fine beach oft' Morro Bay, where 

 numbers are destroyed by the smashing of their fragile shells with 

 the fork used by the clam diggers in probing for Pismo clams. The 

 species is not at present very abundant at Pismo Beach near Oceano 

 and Pismo, but is reported by clam diggers to have been much more 

 eonnnon before the oil became a serious nuisance a few years ago. 

 The most reliable of the statements to this eft'ect was given by Mr. J. A. 

 Beckett of Oceano (C. L. II.). When visited in 1919 small razor 

 clams were common but the large ones were not abundant enough to 

 be dug by the clammers. On one occasion, a number of the young were 

 found killed by oil (F. W. W.). These clams are apparently rare on 

 the short beaches at Point Sal Landing, in the shifting sand of the 

 beach between the reefs of Point Sal and those of Point Purisima and 

 lietween the reefs of Point Purisima and Point Arguello. None were 

 obtained alive l)y digging at any of the above localities, but their 

 occurrence, even oft* these beaches, most probably beloAV low tide limits, 

 is indicated by the fact that shells are washed up on the beaches. That 

 they actually do occur v^^ell offshore is indicated by the fact that one 

 was^ found among the stomach contents of a number of rock cods 

 (Sehastodcs auriculatus) which had been caught in about ten fathoms 

 of water oft' Pismo Beach (C. L. II.). These clams are used only to 

 a small extent locally. 



Use — The razor clam enjoys a well-deserved reputation as a 

 delicacy, being considered by many as the best of our edible clams. 

 The meat is fine grained, white and of excellent flavor, and because of 

 the thinness of the shells the waste is less than in any other economic 

 species. It is ill adapted, however, for shipment, as even the most 

 careful handling is sure to shatter the fragile shells and even unbroken 

 shells close so incompletely that the moisture is not retained. In 

 Alaska, Washington and Oregon, where they are more abundant, this 

 fact has led to the canning of the razor clam near the beds, and at 

 the present time it is one of the most common canned clams on the 

 market. As already pointed out the beds in California are not exten- 

 sive enough to support commercial exploitation. In the case of a 

 cannery which was once established at Little River, such a protest was 

 raised by the local inhabitants as to result in the passage of a law 

 making it "unlawful to preserve in cans or other receptacles or to 

 ship out of said county for commercial purposes, clams of any kind 

 or character, produced or taken from any ground,. waters or territory 

 within the limits of the county of Humboldt." Undoubtedly there 

 is no clam in California so highly valued by the local residents, and 

 the beaches containing them are great local attractions which will be 

 jealously guarded. This is undoubtedly as it should be, for the small 



