NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MUSSEL 6l 



of the seed. Want of care in this matter is as- 

 tonishingly common, and hence the violent fluctua- 

 tions which frequently appear in some localities. 

 This evil seems to be most easily brought 

 about by allowing more than one proper crop of 

 mussels to be taken in one year. The next year's 

 crop is in this way reduced, and the evil gradually 

 spreads to all the crops in succession. Sufficient 

 seed is not obtained to recoup the beds, and a few 

 years of desolation follow. 



In lifting mussels, the rake, in the opinion of 

 the writer, is decidedly preferable to the dredge. 

 Short rakes can be readily used on dry scalps or 

 in shallow water, and heavier implements with 

 long larch pole-handles in water the depth of 

 15 feet. 



Dredging^ although commonly employed to 

 procure mussels, may, under certain conditions 

 of bottom, as seen in the shifting sands of the 

 Dornoch Firth, produce a tendency to cover the 

 mussels with sand. In other localities, where 

 the current is strong and the mussels cling firmly 

 to the bottom, the dredge may crush and destroy 

 numbers. Walking on mussel beds should not 

 be allowed, since damage of the same nature is 

 the result. 



