MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 295 



formed, and (2) an Oyster Bill has been laid before 

 Parliament and referred to a Select Committee of the House 

 of Lords. The Bill, although capable of improvement in 

 some details, does much to meet the present difficulties; 

 if, however, the Oyster Association takes a sufficiently 

 high view of its responsibilities and duties, the provisions 

 of the Bill may become unnecessary. 



I may, finally, give here a few sentences of the practical 

 conclusions at which Prof. Boyce and I have arrived as 

 the result of the bacteriological work : — 



" It is evident from the result of these experiments, and 

 a consideration of all the facts brought to light in recent 

 years in regard to the bacteriology of shell-fish and its 

 influence on public health, that we must regard oysters, 

 mussels, cockles, and the like as nutritious food matters 

 which, from their nature and the circumstances of their 

 cultivation and sale, are liable to become contaminated 

 with organisms — pathogenic or otherwise — and their 

 deleterious products. 



II Once this is recognised, the practical applications are 

 largely a matter of common sense. Shell-fish must not be 

 taken as food from grounds where there is any possibility 

 of sewage contamination ; after removal from the sea, 

 while in transit, in store, or in market, they should be 

 carefully protected from any possibility of insanitary 

 environment ; they should not be kept longer than is 

 absolutely necessary in shops, cellars, &c, in towns, 

 where, even if not running the risk of fresh contami- 

 nation, they are under conditions favourable to the 

 reduction of their vitality, and the growth of their 

 bacterial contents — the fresher they are from the sea 

 the more healthy they are likely to be. Finally, only 

 absolutely fresh shell-fish should be eaten uncooked, and 



