164 UTILIZATION OF MINUTE LIFE. 



a little, so that the animals no longer lie upon 

 the bottom, but live suspended in the water 

 (Fig. 19). 



Mussels are apt to become very hurtful as food 

 at .certain seasons of the year, from May till the 

 end of August, a period denominated by the French 

 " la p&riode des mois sans r." 



The cause of this does not appear to be satis- 

 factorily ascertained. Some attribute it to the 

 presence of spawn in their gills during this period ; 



FIG. 19. Breeding Mussels upon ropes, as practised at La Bochelle, France. 



others assert that mussels become unwholesome 

 from having eaten the spawn of the common star- 

 fish. The latter casts its spawn precisely from the 

 beginning of May till the end of August. How- 

 ever, the fact does not appear proved. In cases of 

 indisposition from this cause, small doses of ether, 

 frequently administered, have proved beneficial. 



