310 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



rennes, Cancale, and Saint- Vaast. The origin and de- 

 velopment of the mussel trade, which are attested both 

 by tradition and ancient records, have been ably dis- 

 cussed by M. d'Orbigny, in a pamphlet which is very 

 little known in consequence of its having been pub- 

 lished in a small provincial town. It is from this 

 work that we have borrowed the following details.* 

 In the year 1035 an Irish bark loaded with sheep 

 was thrown in a heavy storm on the rocks near Es- 

 nandes, whose sailors hastening to the scene of the 

 catastrophe were unable to save any one on board 

 excepting the captain. This man, whose name was 

 Walton, amply repaid the services which had been 

 rendered him ; for having saved some of the sheep 

 from the wreck he crossed them with the animals of 

 the country, and thus produced a fine race, which is 

 still held in high estimation, and is known under the 

 name of the marsh sheep. He next devised a kind 

 of net, the allouret, which was stretched a little above 

 the level of the open sea, where it caught entire 

 flocks of those shore birds which skim the surface of 

 the Avater at twilight or after dark. In order to 

 render these nets thoroughly effective, it was neces- 

 sary to go to the very centre of the immense bed of 

 mud, where these birds seek their nourishment, and 

 to secure a sufficient number of poles to support the 

 nets, which were between three and four hundred 

 yards in length. Walton also invented the pousse- 

 pied or aeon, a kind of boat which is still in use. 



* Histoire des pares ou bouchots a monks des cotes de Varron disse- 

 ment de La Hochelle^y M. C.-M.-D. d'Orbigny pere. La Rochelle, 

 1847. 



