MYTILID^. MUSSEL. 49 



in repair by mortar, owing to the rapidity of the tide. 

 " The corporation, therefore, keep boats to bring mus- 

 sels to it, and the interstices of the bridge are filled by 

 hand with these shellfish, and it is supported entirely 

 by the strong byssus or threads these mussels fix to the 

 stonework."* 



This byssus proceeds from a gristly shaft, which, Mr. 

 Jeffreys states, appears to support the bundle of filaments 

 like the handle of a broom ; and Aristotle mentions this 

 shell-fish in his list of cartilaginous fish. 



So valuable are mussels towards the protection of the 

 shores from the inundations of the sea on some parts of 

 our coasts, that it becomes necessary to prevent their 

 being gathered in some places (see ' Times,' August 7th, 

 1865). An action for trespass was brought some time 

 ago for the purpose of establishing the right of the lord 

 of the manor to prevent the inhabitants of Heacham 

 from taking mussels from the seashore. The locality is 

 the foreshore of the sea, running from Lynn in a north- 

 westerly direction towards Hunstanton, Norfolk ; and 

 " the nature of the shore is such that it requires con- 

 stant attention, and no little expenditure of money, to 

 maintain its integrity, and guard against the serious 

 danger of inundations of the sea." A large quantity of 

 shingle, seaweed, and mussels is always to be seen, and 

 beds of mussels extend for miles along the shore, and 

 mix with the seaweed and shingle, which get fixed on 

 the artificial jetties running into the sea, attaching them- 

 selves by means of the byssus to these embanking de- 

 fences, thereby rendering them firm, and thus acting as 

 barriers against the sea ; therefore, while it is important 

 for the inhabitants, who claim a right by custom, to 

 * ' Glimpses of Ocean Life,' p. 179. 



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