American Fisheries Society 161 



ever, are most commonly found from between tide limits 

 to seven fathoms of water. 



Although exceedingly abundant, sea-mussels have been 

 utilized as food to a very little extent in this country. New 

 York constitutes the chief market for them but it is very 

 limited. A few mussels are sold in Boston, Providence and 

 Philadelphia. The market is small because the people are 

 not familiar with them. As soon as the public can be taught 

 that this shellfish is a superior article of food, the demand 

 for them will increase greatly. For centuries they have 

 been esteemed as a delicacy in France where they are eaten 

 in great quantities. In 1905 the mussels cultivated on the 

 French Coast amounted to 425,492 bushels valued at 

 S222,439. A prominent hotel chef has been quoted as say- 

 ing : "If mussels were not so plentiful and cheap in America 

 we would probably anxiously wait for their coming on the 

 foreign steamers that bring us the queer foods at exorbitant 

 prices which are not to be compared with those of our own 

 country." This is a very truthful statement concerning 

 our human natures; we do not appreciate the value of a 

 thing until it is rare or beyond our reach. 



A measure of the food value shows that the sea-mussel 

 constitutes a large portion of our fisheries wealth. To 

 determine the palatability I have depended upon the testi- 

 mony of numerous persons who ate them in their homes 

 or at a large boarding house in Woods Hole, Mass. The 

 mollusk was served in various styles, such as steamed, 

 roasted, fried and pickled. The testimony was almost 

 unanimous that in flavor and texture it is superior to the 

 soft-shelled clam and every bit equal to the oyster. 



The flesh has been found to be very digestible. Careful 

 experiments made by Dr. D. D. Van Slyke, of the Rocke- 

 feller Institute, Dr. W. B. Clark, of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, and C. B. Bennett, of Brown 

 University, on the rate of digestion of steamed beef and 

 steamed mussels in a dog, show that the rate for each is 

 about the same. It was deemed best to use a do2- in this 



