PREFACE 



I HAVE been induced to write the following pages 

 in the hope that the urgent need for an increased 

 supply of mussel bait may be more generally 

 recognised, that the interests of line fishermen 

 may be promoted, and the food-supply of the 

 country thereby increased. 



My belief is that a systematic cultivation of 

 our foreshores must be attempted before long, 

 and that, on this account, a service may be 

 rendered by the publication of a manual dealing 

 with the natural history of the mussel, the 

 practical aspects of its culture, and the legal 

 questions bearing on the ownership and leasing 

 of scalps. 



While criticising the wasteful and ruinous 

 treatment of our mussel beds in the past, I have 

 nevertheless refrained from attempting to develop 

 any detailed scheme of improvement, since this 



