of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 149 



annum of £1,675-4. In the first half the total value was £19,299, the 

 annual average being £1,484'5 ; in the second half the total was £24,261, 

 and the average £1, 866*2, showing an increase of about 26 per cent. 



On the East Coast the aggregate value amounted to £6111, the average 

 being £235 ; in the first period the total was £5,294 and the average 

 £407*2 ; in the second period the total was £817 and the average £62*8, 

 showing a decrease amounting to about 84 per cent. 



In Orkney and Shetland the aggregate value was £254, with an average 

 of £9*7. The average in the first period was £17*6 and in the second 

 £1*9, showing a decrease of about 88 per cent. 



The aggregate value on the West Coast amounted to £37,195, the aver- 

 age per annum being £1,430*6. In the first period the total was £13,776 

 and the average £1,059*7 ; in the second period the total was £23,419, the 

 average value per annum being £1,801*5. Here there was an increase of 

 about 70 per cent, in the value, as compared with an increase of 86 per 

 cent, in the number of oysters landed. 



The allocation of the value to the diflerent coasts in the two periods may 

 be shown thus : — 



1883-1895. 1896-1908. 



East Coast 27*4 per cent. 3*4 per cent. 



Orkney and Shetland . . 1*2 „ 0*1 ,, 



West Coast 71*4 „ 96*5 



Comparing the percentage increase in value with that in number, it is 

 obvious that the relative value has diminished. This is also shown by 

 computing the average values per 100 oysters, in shillings, in quinquennial 

 periods, as follows : — 



East 

 Coast. 



1884-1888 12*0 



1889-1893 11*6 



- 1894-1898 10*6 



1899-1903 10*2 



1904-1908 7-7 



The considerable decrease in recent years may be attributed in part to 

 the " scares " in connection with cases where enteric fever was traced to 

 polluted oysters and other shell-fish. 



Mvjssels. 



The aggregate quantity of mussels landed in the twenty-six years in 

 Scotland was 4,929,375 cwts., the average per annum being 189,591 cwts. 

 In the first thirteen years the total amounted to 3,027,747 cwts., the aver- 

 age being 232,904 cwts. In the second period the quantity was 1,901,628 

 cwts., giving an annual average of 146,279 cwts. There was thus a gross 

 decrease of 1,126,119 cwts. in the latter period, or about 37 per cent. 



This decrease was most marked on the East Coast. The aggregate 

 quantity amounted to 3,300,828 cwts., the average being 126,954 cwts. In 

 the first half of the period the quantity was 2,094,077 cwts., with an aver- 

 age of 161,083 cwts. ; in the second half the total amounted to 1,206,751 

 cwts., the average being 92,827 cwts., showing a decrease of over 42 per 

 cent. 



The total for Orkney and Shetland was 83,827 cwts., the annual average 

 being 3224 cwts. In the first thirteen years the total vvas 50,520 cwts., 

 with an average of 3886 cwts.; in the last thirteen years the total 



