FRESH- WATER MUSSELS AND MUSSEIv INDUSTRIES. 59 



pipes, rising to the level of the gunwales of the boat, served as sockets or sleeves, through which a long 

 iron rod could be shoved into tlie soft mud bottom of the river. By anchoring in this way the boat was 

 kept abreast of the current, while the fisherman used the sides as a fulcrum for the handle of the fork. 

 After gathering all the mussels possible within reach he would pull up the rods, let the boat drift down- 

 stream a suitable distance, or beyond the portion of river just worked, and then anchor and resume 

 operations as before. 



At Milltown, mussels were gathered by means of the basket-rake dragged by a power-boat. The rake 

 was peculiar in being without teeth but having a square brail made of 0.25 by 1.5 inch flat iron, to 

 which was fastened a \vire basket of i-inch mesh. With each boat was a crew of four men, three to work 

 with tlie rakes and one to operate the engine. One dragged the rake at the rear of the boat, while the 

 other two worked at the sides. In this manner a strip of the river bottom 6 feet wide was thoroughly 

 scraped. 



SUMMARY OF METHODS OF FISHERY. 



The principal forms of apparatus are the crowfoot bar, the dip net, the shoulder rake 

 (or basket rake), the forks, and the dredge. A considerable quantity of shells, about 500 

 tons each year, are taken by hand. (Cf. PI. XXXI.) The statistical reports previ- 

 ously cited (p. 39 above) shov7 in detail the quantities of mussels taken by the several forms 

 of apparatus. From these reports the percentages of the total of 51,571 tons of shells 

 taken in the territory covered, as credited to the several forms of apparatus, may be 

 computed and stated as follows : 



Per cent. 



Crowfoot 70. o 



Forks 10. 5 



Tongs 7. 8 



Hand 5. 3 



Per cent. 



Dip net s- 3 



Dredge i. 2 



Rakes 1.2 



99-3 

 SHORE) EQUIPMENT AND PROCESSES. 



It is customary for the shellers to establish camps alongshore. Sometimes the 

 camps are individual and occupied by one sheller with his family; in other cases a sort 

 of village camp is found where a dozen or more families of shellers are grouped. The 

 selection of a site is governed, first, by the proximity of a good shell bed; next by the 

 convenience to wood and shade. Rude frame buildings may be constructed, or tents 

 may be used. A very common form of dwelling is the house-boat, or "shanty-boat," 

 as it is generally termed (PI. XXXII, fig. 2). There are many different forms and 

 sizes of shanty-boats, to suit the needs and ideas of the fishermen; popular sizes are 

 about 10 by 35 feet and 12 by 40 feet. With such boats it is a simple matter for the 

 sheller to move from place to place, according to the requirements of the fishery. One 

 or two small flatboats and usually a larger boat with a small gasoline engine are almost 

 always employed, whether or not the house-boat is used. 



After bringing the mussels ashore the soft parts must be removed. Where pearling 

 is the exclusive object, each mussel may be opened with a knife inserted between the 

 valves of the shell, so as to sever the adductor muscles; the meat is then cut out and 

 examined for pearls. This may be done while wading in the river and the meat and 

 shell thrown away at once. Such a process is entirely too slow and tedious for preparing 

 shells for market; hence the cooking out process is exclusively employed in the shell 

 110306°— 19 i 



