74 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF BLACKPOOL AND DISTRICT 



out and recorded in annual and other reports. The Quarterly Reports of the 

 present Superintendent, Dr. J. T. Jenkins, also abound in valuable practical 

 fishery information. Not content with scientific investigation, the Committee, 

 in collaboration with the Lancashire Education Committee, organised courses 

 of instruction in biology for fishermen in the laboratory at Piel, and later 

 instituted successful courses in navigation and seamanship for fishermen. 

 From these activities, Dr. and later Professor James Johnstone emerged as one 

 of the most distinguished of British marine biologists. With the growth of the 

 population the modern problem of the effect of sewage pollution on shell- fish 

 was early experienced, and investigated by the local Committee, with the help 

 of Professors Herdman and Boyce and Dr. J. Johnstone. 3 



A new station has recently been constructed at Lytham, near Blackpool, 

 by the Lancashire County Council, for the self-cleansing of unclean mussels, 

 so that the local fishermen will now be able to market a commodity which 

 would otherwise be unsaleable for human consumption. At the present time 

 the Lancashire Sea Fisheries Committee is showing special activity in helping 

 to develop and prevent further deterioration of the inshore fisheries, which 

 produce a type of man unsurpassed in any other occupation. 



The advance of the Lancashire Sea Fisheries may be largely due to natural 

 causes, but these have been exploited by a competent body of vigorous fisher- 

 men, far-seeing commercial bodies — amongst whom the railway company is 

 an important one — and the Lancashire Sea Fisheries Committee, assisted by 

 distinguished laymen and scientists. Co-operation of the Fleetwood fishery 

 vessel owners, of the wholesale buyers (as the Fleetwood Fish Merchants' 

 Association) and of the inshore fishermen in fishermen's co-operative societies 

 under the Fisheries Organisation Society has also played an important part m 

 the success attained. 



3 Dr. Johnstone made a special study of the self-cleansing of sewage-polluted mussels, which 

 was followed later by extensive experiments by Dr. R. W. Dodgson at the Conway Station of the 

 Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the development there of an ingenious and successful 

 commercial self-cleansing process. (See Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Scientific 

 Investigations, Series II., Vol. X., No. 1, 1928, Report on Mussel Purification.) The principle of 

 this process is now applied to the cleansing, also, of oysters. 



XIV. 



THE GROWTH OF BLACKPOOL 

 AS A HEALTH AND HOLIDAY RESORT 



BY 



W. I. CURNOW, B.A., 

 Second Master, Blackpool Grammar School. 



The Borough of Blackpool was constituted in 1 876 out of the whole of Layton- 

 with-Warbreck together with part of Bispham-with-Norbreck and part of 

 Marton. Since that date the Borough has extended its boundaries three times. 



