MISCELLANEOUS SHELLFISH INDUSTRIES 677 



which has been added from 1 to 3 per cent by weight of salt. The pickhng in 

 vinegar and salt is continued for about 3 days. 



A spiced vinegar sauce is prepared from vinegar, bay leaves, white pepper, 

 mustard seed, cloves, fennel, and paprika. The pickled mussels are drained and 

 packed in 5- or 8-ounce glass jars, and the sauce is added. The glass jars are 

 capped and processed for 25 to 30 minutes at 221° F ( 104.6° C) , after which they 

 are ready for marketing. The largest markets for these mussels are in Boston, 

 Philadelphia, and New York. 



Canned mussels possess an attractive appearance and pleasing taste. They do 

 not shrivel when canned as do oysters, but remain tender and retain the full flavor. 



The dehydration of mussels has been studied by Field (1909) .and others, but 

 has never been applied commercially. 



Other Uses. In Europe large quantities of mussels are used as fish bait. Their 

 use in America for this purpose is very limited. Mussels and mussel muds (mussel 

 beds buried with silt) are used as fertilizer where they may be obtained easily 

 in large quantities. Both mussels and mussel muds are used by the truck farmers 

 along the coast in New Jersey and Long Island. Large quantities of mussel mud 

 are used on Prince Edward Island, where extensive deposits, varying from 5 to 25 

 feet in depth, are found. The shells, usually more or less intact, are found em- 

 bedded in dense deposits of silt. The mussel mud is obtained by means of dredg- 

 ing machines operated from rafts. It contains organic matter, lime, and small 

 quantities of phosphates and potassium compounds, and is an excellent fertilizer 

 for acid or exhausted soil. 



A method of utilizing sea mussels has been developed in Denmark. The mus- 

 sels are dried at a high temperature and then ground. The meal produced is con- 

 sidered an excellent feed for chickens. One sample contained the following con- 

 stituents: calcium salts, 71.41 per cent; carbohydrates, 13.21 per cent; nitrogenous 

 matter, 11.64 per cent; fat, 1.68 per cent; and water, 2.06 per cent. This material 

 supplies the grit necessary for strengthening the egg shells as a considerable 

 amount of nutritious feed is obtained from the dried mussels. 



Other Shellfish Industries 



Small quantities of many other marine mollusks are utilized commercially, 

 including the following: natica, cockle, periwinkle, piddock, squid, donax, cepha- 

 lopod, chiton, and conch. 



Perhaps the most important of these mollusks is the squid, which is commonly 

 used as bait by many of the trawl and hand-line fishermen of New England, 

 Eastern Canada, and Newfoundland. This mollusk belongs to the devilfish fam- 

 ily and is a favorite oriental marine delicacy. Squid is used to some extent as bait 

 on the Atlantic Coast, but on the western coast it is marketed fresh, dried, and 

 canned. During 1945 1,733,021 pounds of squid were frozen for storage. The 

 common squid (Loligo opalescens, Barry) is eaten chiefly by the Chinese and 

 Japanese inhabitants of the Western states and by the Italian and Spanish of New 

 York and Boston. 



In California squid are now taken usually in the large lampara nets used for 

 sardines, and under similar conditions (i.e., at night). When a school is located, 

 the net is thrown around them; they are drawn to the boat and the net is emptied 

 the same as with sardines. 



