\ 
14 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [308] 
sively cultivated for the market. On our coast it is seldom used as 
food, although quite as good as on the European shores; but it is col- 
lected on some parts of our coast in vast quantities to be used for fer- 
tilizing the soil. It is most abundant in the shallow waters of bays and 
estuaries, where the water isa little brackish, but flourishes weilin almost 
all kinds of situations where there is some mud, together with solid ob- 
jects to which it can attach itself. Along the coasts of Long Island and 
New Jersey it is taken in almost incredible quantities from the shallow 
sheltered baysand lagoonsthat skirt those shores. It grows very rapidly 
and under favorable conditions becomes full grown in one season. Like all 
other kinds of true muscles, it has the power of spinning strong threads by 
means of the groove in its long, slender foot, and, by extending the foot, 
glues them firmly by one end to rocks, shells, or any other solid sub- 
stances, while the other end is firmly attached to its body. When they 
attach their threads to their neighbors they form large clusters. Thus 
avery firm and secure anchorage is effected, and they are generally 
able to ride out the most violent storms, though, by the giving way of 
the rocks or shells to which they are attached, many are always stranded. 
on the beaches after severe storms. They are not confined to the shal- 
low waters, for very large specimens were dredged by me, several years. 
ago, in 40 to 50 fathoms in the deep channels between Eastport, Maine,. 
and Deer Island, where the tide runs with great force; and it has since 
been dredged by our parties in still deeper water in the same region, 
showing that it can live and prosper equally well under the most di- 
verse conditions. The specimens from sheltered localities and sandy 
bottoms are, however, much more delicate in texture and more brilliant 
in color than those from more exposed situations. Some of the thinner 
and more delicate specimens, from quiet and pure waters, are transla- 
cent and very beautifully colored with brown, olive, green, yellow, and 
indigo blue, alternating in radiating bands of different widths; while. 
others are nearly uniform pale yellow, or translucent horn-color. Those 
from the exposed shores are generally thicker, opaque, and plain dull 
brown, or bluish black, and not untrequently they are very much dis- 
torted. This species breeds early in the spring. Ihave found immense 
numbers of the young, about as large as the head of a pin, which had just 
attached themselves to algz, hydrvids, &¢., on the 12th of April. These 
shells are not destined to remain forever fixed, however, for they not 
only swim free when first hatched, but even in after life they can, at 
will, let go their anchor-threads, or “byssus,” and creep about by 
means of their slender “ foot,” until they find another anchorage that 
suits them better, and they can even climb up the perpendicular 
sides of rocks or piles by means of the threads of the “ byssus,” which 
they then stretch out and attach, one after another, in the direction 
they wish to climb, each one being fastened a little higher up than 
the last. Thus, little by little, the heavy shell is drawn up, much in 
the manner employed by some spiders when moving or, suspending an. 
