l8 MUSSEL CULTURE 



should be noted, since without some improvement 

 in the bait market it is likely to become more 

 and more obvious. Fishermen with whom the 

 tide of ill-fortune has set in — and there are few 

 who have not experienced this of late — can ill 

 afford to spend money on bait which has been 

 brought, at considerable expense, from Holland 

 or Ireland. 



If the home crops of mussels continue to decline, 

 and prices to rise, this great branch of the in- 

 dustry must slowly be abandoned for the al- 

 ready overstocked net fishing, and the capital 

 sunk in the 42,000 miles of Scotch fishing-lines 

 sacrificed. 



