62 MUSSEL CULTURE 



The form of rake used at St. Andrews is con- 

 sidered very serviceable, and may be described 

 as follows : The iron head, to which the pole- 

 handle is attached, has the toothed bar bent 

 backwards at each end. Each bent part carries 

 two teeth. There are about seventeen teeth in all. 

 The head is about 2"^ inches across, and each 

 tooth is lO inches long, slightly curved back- 

 wards at the tip. A shallow net is fixed above 

 the toothed bar by a bow of strong iron wire, 

 which passes from end to end of the bar and 

 is caught in the centre by an attachment to the 

 root of the pole where the iron joins the wood. 

 The netting is 3j-inch mesh, made of ' marlin.' 

 In making the rake, the teeth are first screwed 

 into the bar and then riveted.^ A similar rake 

 is used in Holland. 



The use of a riddle^ for separating small from 

 great, in transplanting mussels, is also of great 

 service, since it not only ensures that the shell- 

 fish about to be bedded are of fairly even size, 

 but is most economical in saving great numbers 

 of small mussels which otherwise would be 

 allowed to disappear. A riddle is commonly 

 used at King's Lynn, where the manager of the 



^ M'Intosh, Report^ loc. cii. p. J^. 



