10 THE MOLLUSCA OF THE FIRTH OF CLYDE. 
states that in his day mussels were chiefly valuable for 
manure. 
The variety zncwrvata is common, and a_ beautifully 
striped variety (pellucida?) is occasionally found. This 
latter I have taken at Campbeltown and Rothesay Bay, and 
also near Helensburgh. 
British distribution —Exceedingly abundant every where, 
especially in estuaries. In Scotland the best known beds 
are those in the Forth and Eden, on the east coast, and at. 
Port-Glasgow in the Clyde. 
Foreign localities (varieties included)—Greenland (Fabri- 
cius), Iceland (Verkriizen), Maine (Gould), Lower Canada 
(W. Brown and others), Labrador (Whiteaves), Norway 
(Lovén and others), northern and southern coasts of Spain 
and Portugal and coast of Mogador and the Mediterranean 
(M‘Andrew), St. Helena (Jeffreys). It is also said to inhabit 
the sea of Okhotsk (/iddendor/f). 
* Mytilus modiolus, Linné. 
Modiola Papuana, Lamarck; Modiola vulgaris, Fleming. 
Habitat—On rough stony ground from low water down 
to 12 or 15 fathoms, not uncommon but rather local. Stray 
examples of this species occur everywhere, but it is 
gregarious in the following localities which I have noted— 
Ardmaleish Point, Bute, fine and plentiful in 2 to 4 fathoms, 
and at lowest water of spring tides; Bogany Point, near the 
buoy; Toward Point; Holy Loch; and in shallow water, 
west side of Cumbrae, a little south of Fintry Bay. This 
mollusk is frequently infested by a pea crab (Pinnotheres) 
which lives in the folds of the gills; this parasite is common 
in the specimens from Rothesay Bay. The young of the 
present species are usually found in rough nests formed of 
stones, sand, and fragments of nullipore, bound together by 
byssal threads. 
Fried in dripping, the Mytilus modiolus is said by the 
tishermen of Rothesay to be one of the best and sweetest 
shellfish for the table, an opinion which few will care to 
verify, as the animal has by no means an inviting appear- 
ance. The local name is “Clabach Dhu;” the more general 
vulgar name being “ Horse Mussel.” 
British distribution.—The headquarters are the north 
and west of Scotland, but it extends over the greater part 
of England and Ireland, although not so common. On the 
Dogger Bank the Horse Mussel attains a great size, fully 
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