315 



the Wash ; and I have no hesitation in saying that, if the 

 Mussel beds in this area were properly worked, they are 

 capable of supplying with bait the whole of the long-line 

 fisheries of the country. 



To catch the Mussel spat I have tried rows of wattled 

 stakes placed in different positions on the beds as in France, 

 but I found that they became covered with a green weed 

 in a very short time, and were therefore unable to receive 

 the spat. 



I found that rows of stakes or blocks of cliff stone placed 

 on the scalp remained free from weed and gathered the 

 spat 



Mussels are used very largely for food in London, Man- 

 chester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester, and other 

 towns, the supplies coming from the Wash, Morecambe 

 Bay, Devonshire, and large quantities from Bruinisse in 

 Zeeland. 



The Mussel is admitted on all hands to be the most 

 deadly bait for salt-water fish, and from experiments I 

 have made I believe the reason to be attributable to its 

 tenacity to life. A Mussel taken from its shell and sus- 

 pended on a hook in sea-water will be alive in two days. I 

 am aware that fishermen are under the impression that they 

 die shortly after being placed on the hook, but that such 

 is not the case I am certain ; the microscopic movement of 

 the cilia on the four gills or branchiae may be overlooked 

 by a fisherman, but undoubtedly this lifelike movement is 

 appreciated by the fish, and causes the Mussel to be the 

 most deadly of baits. 



The Mussel beds on the east coast of England are 

 capable of supplying with bait the whole of the line fishing. 

 The method of obtaining this bait up to the present has 

 been for the Mussels to be sent from the Wash and other 



