Field. — The Sea Mussel Industry 141 



of any importance have been received. The people do 

 not like their color and general appearance, and show a 

 general prejudice against them without being able to 

 give any reason for it. It will require a campaign of 

 education to teach the public what it is missing by refus- 

 ing to utilize this vast source of food supply. 



The most encouraging news has been received from a 

 Brooklyn dealer who during the past year has sold 50,000 

 bushels in either the fresh or pickled form. This is 

 equivalent to double the value of the salt water mussel 

 industry reported for the entire nation in 1908. His 

 report further states that the business is growing and 

 that a market is beginning to develop for them inland. 

 His products are of superb quality and flavor, samples 

 of which you will find here for examination. Other con- 

 cerns with whom I have not been able to get in touch are 

 marketing mussels in one form or another, but chiefly 

 in the fresh condition, or pickled in vinegar and spices. 

 Quantities of the shellfish are usually to be found on sale 

 in Fulton Market. The demand for mussels in New York 

 reached such a stage this past year that one Brooklyn 

 firm complained it could not get its needed supply for 

 pickling purposes. 



Prejudice is a slow barrier to overcome, but the outlook" 

 is favorable for a gradual development of a sea mussel 

 industry which will not stop until it has reached the same 

 plane it now occupies in Europe, second only to that of 

 the oyster. 



DISCUSSION 



Prof. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries of Canada: Dr. Field has 

 expressed surprise that the mussel is not more utilized for food. It 

 is a matter of great surprise that this delicious mussel is not in greater 

 demand. I have eaten very few ' mussels since coming to this conti- 

 nent, although I much prefer them to oysters or other shell-fish. They 

 can be prepared in various ways for which the oyster is not suitable. 

 As soon as people become accustomed to eat the mussel I believe it 

 will take the first place as an edible shellfish. In London alone about 

 fifty or sixty thousand tons are sold annually for food. 



Apart from this, the mussel is the most important bait used by 

 the fisherman. The Scotch fishermen use forty or fifty thousand tons 

 per year for bait, and it is one of the most interesting spectacles for 

 a traveler at a fishing village to see the dexterity with which the fisher- 

 wives bait the lines with mussels. 



