26 . MUSSEL CULTURE 



siderably, the floods of the river Findhorn 

 occasionally altering the ground. Seed-mussels 

 are collected from two natural beds near the 

 mouth of the river, and are transplanted to a 

 position above the town, where they are pro- 

 tected. All three beds may be said to be quite 

 uncovered at low tide. The mussels of these 

 beds grow to a large size, and are preferred to 

 any others by the fishermen of the Moray Firth. 



In former years two other mussel beds existed 

 in this locality, one on each side of the mouth of 

 the river. They are believed to have been partly 

 fished out and partly destroyed by shifting sands, 

 which are common on this coast. 



The Nairn Bed.— This bed is of special 

 interest, since it is the direct product of mussel 

 culture in recent years. After the sitting of the 

 Mussel Commission at Elgin, in October 1888, 

 the fishermen of Nairn resolved to experiment 

 with mussels on their own account. They had 

 no mussels of any value in their immediate 

 neighbourhood, and were dependent mainly on 

 those brought from the Clyde. In the belief that 

 in former days a bed existed in an outlet locally 

 termed E'e, six miles from Nairn, at the old mouth 

 of Findhorn, the fishermen with most commendable 



