THE SEA MUSSEL INDUSTRY. 



By Irving A. Field, 

 Asst. Prof, of liiolofjy, Clark Colleye. 



Three years ago at the New York meeting of this 

 Society I presented a paper which dealt with the food 

 properties and commercial value of the sea mussel. 

 Attention was called to the fact that in Europe there 

 was a large and ready market for this shellfish, while 

 in America New York City was the only place where 

 any sale could be found for them. In the present paper 

 it is my purpose to outline the development of the sea 

 mussel industry, to show what is being done in Europe, 

 what we are doing in the United States and what we 

 ought to be doing in the way of utilizing this valuable 

 but hitherto almost neglected mollusk. 



The origin of mussel culture was in the Bay of Aiguil- 

 lon on the west coast of France in the year 12'>5. The in- 

 ventor of the system was Patrick Walton, an Irish sailor, 

 who was shipwrecked on that coast and rescued as the 

 sole survivor of his ill-fated vessel. He was kindly 

 received by the native fishermen and invited to make his 

 home with them. In return for their cordial hospitality 

 he was able to give them a rich and lasting reward. 

 Previous to his arrival the fishermen of that region had 

 made poor success at earning a livelihood, but Walton, 

 who was a most ingenious fellow, was quick to perceive 

 the wealth which might be obtained from the neighbor- 

 ing great swamp of mud. Starting out to make a living 

 by capturing birds in a net which was suspended be- 

 tween stakes driven into the mud of the swamp, he soon 

 observed that young mussels were attaching themselves 

 in enormous numbers to the wooden supports. He no- 

 ticed that they grew with great rapidity and that they 

 were of superior quality and fiavor to those which grew 

 on the mud. The conclusion was quickly reached that 

 mussels could be profitably raised on wooden frames, and 

 Walton promptly put this idea into practice with a suf- 



