180 Edible Mollusca of the Oregon Coast 
ington clam” or the “great blue clam”; Saxidomus giganteus Des- 
hayes, sometimes called the “butter clam”, wrongly called the 
“quahog” at Netarts Bay; Cardium corbis Martyn, universally 
known as the “cockle’; Macoma nasuta Conrad, the “‘bent nose 
clam”, called at Newport the “oyster clam’; Pholadidea penita 
(Conrad), a rock borer, commonly but wrongly called the “rock 
oyster”; Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, the smaller and smoother of the 
two common sea mussels, and Mytilus californicus Conrad, the 
larger and rougher sea mussel. Besides these may be mentioned 
species of pecten which undoubtedly exist off the coast of Oregon, 
beyond the low tide line, but nothing is known at the present time 
regarding the distribution of the beds or their abundance. 
That the Indians made extensive use of clams and mussels 
along the northwest coast even before the advent of the white man 
is a matter of general knowledge. Along the Oregon shore, from 
Seaside in Clatsop County to southern Curry County, great heaps 
of shells or “kitchen middens” are common sights. Many of them 
are very old, some are covered with earth and vegetation, and others 
with shrubs and trees of considerable size. Without thoroughly 
investigating the contents of these mounds it was observed that 
they are composed primarily of shells of types of molluscs found 
living in the same vicinity at the present time. 
Although there is a somewhat general apathy of people toward 
fresh clams and mussels as food, probably due largely to unfamil- 
larity with them, and a very universal tendency to neglect things 
that are commonplace, the writer has observed a marked increase 
in the use of these sea products by the people of the northwest dur- 
ing the past few years. Statistics relative to the shore fisheries of 
clams and mussels of the Pacific coast states for the year 1915, as 
recorded by Radcliffe* in a report of the United States Bureau of 
Fisheries, are as follows: 
California. Value. 
Etardicl ais: 2s ss eee eee Lee $ 17,583 
Soft clams: 5.) ee ee 18,107 
Mussels: 1. Set. 5 he 2,326 
Total 22.005 2 $ 38,016 
* Radcliffe, Lewis. Fisheries Industries of the United States. Appendix X to the 
Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1918. Document No. 875, p. 1-167. 
[4] 
