244 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



materials used were of excellent quality and they were put up in a most attractive man- 

 ner. Except for minor defects, such as using wrong proportions of vinegar and spices 

 in their preparation, which could be readily corrected, the products were of superior 

 quality and promised to find a good market if properly advertised. But unfortunately 

 the president of the packing company grew pessimistic about the possibilities of the 

 business and stopped the packing of mussels without making any serious attempt to 

 put them on the market. 



The method employed in handling the shellfish for canning purposes as worked out 

 by this company is recorded here because of its historic importance in marking the first 

 step toward developing a mussel-canning industry in the United States. 



For collecting mussels the same equipment is employed as in the oyster fishery, 

 since the shellfish grow under essentially the same conditions as oysters, on the bottom 

 and in water of varying depths from between tide marks to ioo feet. In Narragansett 

 Bay most of the beds lie in from 10 to 60 feet of water. The principal difference in char- 

 acter between mussel and oyster beds that has to be taken into consideration in harvest- 

 ing methods is that in the former the shellfish lie together much more thickly, are firmly 

 attached to each other by byssus threads in the form of a carpet, and often accumulate 

 much mud, while in the latter the shellfish are loosely distributed over a clean, hard 

 bottom. 



The type of oyster boat shown in figure 224 furnishes the most efficient means of 

 collecting mussels. It is propelled by a gasoline or kerosene engine and carries two 

 5 to 7 bushel oyster dredges that are operated by power and manipulated from the 

 pilot house. They are situated on the forward deck, one on each side of the boat. 

 To operate the dredges successfully on a mussel bed requires both skill and experience, 

 for if not enough warp is let out the dredge will slip over the surface of the shellfish, 

 which are woven together, without picking them up, while, on the other hand, if too 

 much warp is let out the dredge will plunge deep into the mud and fill with it to 

 greater extent than with mussels. This involves a waste of time, labor, and energy 

 to separate the mussels from the mud, which is accomplished by alternately raising the 

 filled dredge from the water and dropping it back again. Two men are stationed on 

 the deck to receive and empty the dredges as fast as they come up. Properly manip- 

 ulated on a good bed of mussels, a boat equipped with two 7-bushel dredges can take 

 on a load at the rate of 150 bushels per hour. 



The mussels thus collected and brought to port are bound together in tangled 

 masses and mixed with dead shells, mud, and much debris. A device for tearing the 

 individuals apart and separating them from the foreign matter was devised from a 

 standard coal screen over which there was made to play jets of water, as shown in 

 figure 225. Mussels dumped into one end of the revolving screen are tumbled about, 

 torn apart, and freed from debris by the running water. 



After this preliminary treatment the shellfish are shoveled upon a shelf where 

 they are rapidly culled by hand (fig. 228) and then given a final washing in a cylin- 

 drical screen ^hich revolves, partially submerged, in a tank of water (fig. 226). After 

 this cleansing they are placed in wire baskets, such as shown to the right in figure 226, 

 and transferred to a steam chest or process kettle (fig. 227) which holds about 15 of 

 the bushel baskets. When filled, the lid of the kettle is clamped in place, and this 

 completes the preparation for cooking. 



