242 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



Mussels: What They Are and How to Cook Them," U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Economic 

 Circular No. 12. It bears the photograph of a sea mussel on the first page, states briefly 

 the magnitude of the sea mussel industry in Europe, points out the close relationship 

 of mussels to clams and oysters, and shows that as a food they are delicious, nutritious, 

 wholesome, and cheap when properly collected, handled, and prepared. The account 

 concludes with a list of 18 recipes furnished by the French chef of a prominent Boston 

 hotel. Some placards, 14 by 20 inches in size, were printed in heavy type with the words : 



SEA MUSSELS 



A CHEAP AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD 



Recommended by 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



These were loaned to reputable fish dealers to put in their store windows, with the 

 understanding that they should market mussels collected from waters knows to be 

 free from pollution. In some cases this card of indorsement, with a hundred of the 

 economic circulars, was all that was necessary to start a fish dealer in the mussel busi- 

 ness. This was especially true in localities populated with English or French people, 

 who possessed knowledge of their importance as a food in Europe. 



Another method employed to get the shellfish before a large class of persons was 

 to serve them on the tables of many first-class hotels, restaurants, and clubs. Boston 

 offered the best opportunity for starting such a campaign, for in one of her leading 

 hotels there was a French chef, Charles Doucot, whose enthusiasm for the mussel 

 knew no bounds when he learned that the species could be procured on the New England 

 coast. He had served them formerly in his father's Paris restaurant and was eager 

 to be the pioneer in getting them introduced into the Boston hotels and eating houses. 

 The Bureau arranged to furnish mussels without charge to every first-class hotel, club, 

 and restaurant in Boston on the condition that they be given a prominent place on the 

 menu card and the patrons urged to order them. The success of the plan surpassed 

 expectations, largely due to the energetic support given the movement by Mr. Doucot, 

 who was then president of the Boston Chefs' Club. In this influential position he 

 persuaded the chefs of practically every first-class hotel, club, and restaurant in Boston 

 to put sea mussels on their bills of fare. The newspapers appreciated the importance 

 of the propaganda and with the active support of Mr. Doucot devoted considerable 

 space from day to day to the campaign and the merits of the mussel as a food. 



To bring the food value of the mussel to the attention of another large class of 

 people who do not commonly eat at hotels and restaurants, the Bureau placed a barrel 

 of the shellfish in each of the Boston police stations for free distribution to members 

 of the force. As was expected, the chief topic of conversation on the following day, as 

 the men went over their beats, was concerning the qualities of the "new sea food." 

 The plan proved very successful in bringing the food to the attention of the general 

 public for a short time. 



In Lowell, Mass., the Bureau developed a market for mussels quickly by cooperating 

 with the Y. M. C. A. in its educational lecture course. An agent of the Bureau arranged 



