Ii30 Mns.sel Beds; their Prodaetivity and Maintenance 



rest under a depth of about two feet of clean sea water. As the faecal 

 matter is ejected, it falls through the gratings on to the cemented floor 

 beneath, which slopes away to outlet pipes of large diameter. The water 

 is allowed to escape when the tide is low, and carries, as it flows out, the 

 excretory products. Exhaustive tests (bacteriological and others) are 

 carried out before the site of the tank is decided upon, in order to ensure 

 the purity of the water gaining access to it. The shellfish remain in the 

 structure for the space of forty-eight hours, and they are then ])nt into 

 bags bearing the lead seal of the Committee, to show that they have 

 undergone treatment. 



Another method, now being experimented with in this country, 

 employs certain chemical substances, which cause the mussels to eject 

 speedily all waste matters, and at the same time sterilises the water. 



The capacity of these structures is limited to present day needs, and, 

 therefore, if the industry is to be developed to its utmost limit, as out- 

 lined in the present article, these purification arrangements must be so 

 designed as to expand with it. 



In this article, it has been attempted to show the means whereby 

 suitable "ground" in estuaries may be made to produce a greatly in- 

 creased yield of mussels. Great efforts are being made in the U.S.A. 

 to popularise this shellfish as an article of food, in view of its high nutri- 

 tive value. In Europe, no such efforts are required, as its value has 

 long been recognised. It is hoped that representative persons living in 

 settlements where mussels are fished regularly will take up the matter, 

 and encourage the fishermen to keep the beds well stocked, work well 

 worth the doing, from the standpoint of food production as well as in 

 other ways. In the small seaside communities of Cardigan Bay, for 

 instance, the mussel fishery forms practically the sole source of income 

 to a fair number of men, who would otherwise be unemployed for long 

 periods during which there is no other work for them to do. In these 

 places, however, the industry, which has been shown to be capable of 

 very considerable development, suffers because of the utter lack of 

 cooperation between its members, and means must be devised to over- 

 come this evil. A frequent cause for complaint by the fishermen is that 

 they have no security of tenure, which however seems unavoidable. 

 They ask to be granted the leasehold of portions of the beds, in which 

 case, they assert, they would undertake to keep their respective " small 

 holdings" stocked to their fullest capacity. This is open to objection, 

 however, even were it possible to accede to their wishes. Most of our 



