It is supposed that out of the 1 50,000 wash caught, not 

 more than 6,000 wash are eaten ; the other 144,000 are used 

 for bait by vessels engaged in catching Cod, Ling, and 

 Haddocks, each vessel using on an average voyage 45 wash, 

 which in fine weather they would use in four days. The 

 Grimsby smacks engaged in catching Whelks are fitted 

 with wells, -into which the Whelks are put after being first 

 placed in nets ; by this means they are kept alive, as they 

 are almost useless for bait when dead. 



The vessels used in catching Whelks are from 15 to 30 

 tons register, and some of the better ones cost from 600 

 to 700 each. 



Most of the Whelks caught by Lynn smacks are sent to 

 London for human food. 



The edible Whelk is considered a very nutritious and 

 strengthening food, and is always free from poisonous 

 matter. I have heard fishermen say that a dish of Whelks 

 does them as much good as a beefsteak. 



I am indebted to Mr. D. Barnard, of Lynn, and Mr. 

 W. G. Marshall, of Great Grimsby, for the above statistics 

 concerning the Whelk. 



I consider the only legislation necessary for the protec- 

 tion of Whelks is that the fishermen should return to the 

 sea all Whelks less than if inch in length. 



Mussels. The most important mollusc, both for food 

 and bait, is the Mussel. 



In British waters, spatting usually takes place in the 

 spring, and does not appear to be at all dependent on 

 warm weather. On December /th, 1877, I examined some 

 of the embryo taken from a spatting Mussel with a micro- 

 scope, and found it to have a reddish appearance, and 

 about the five-hundredth part of an inch in diameter. It 

 would not polarize, so I conclude the shell was not formed. 



