SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 457 



His blood gave a + reaction. He died on 24/1/ '08. 

 His friend did not become ill. 



Case — called at shop — and ate Id. worth of steamed 

 mussels. Her friend ate whelks. Two days later she 

 was ill with stomach pains and diarrhoea. On 3/ 12/ '08 

 the doctor suspected enteric and the patient was removed 

 to hospital. Her blood gave a — reaction. The case 

 was regarded as enteric. 



" The West Cheshire Coroner investigated the 

 circumstances of the death of a boy of seven, Walter 

 Grace, who had died after eating two pocketfuls of 

 mussels gathered off the shore at Seacombe, and also 

 some banana and orange peel out of the gutter. Blame 

 was laid by the Jury on the mussels, the Coroner 

 remarking that that was not the first death in the 

 district from mussels taken in the Mersey Estuary." 

 (One might suggest that the jury contained greengrocers, 

 but not fish salesmen.) 



Some cases are, of course, very convincing. 



Three men, W., D. and B., called at a shop — at 

 various dates between 2/ll/'0T and 20/ll/'0T, and all 

 ate steamed mussels. B. had been drinking hard. W. 

 became ill on 17/ 11/ '07, D. on 18-21/ 11/ '07, and B. on 

 22/11/ '07. They all had enteric. D.'s wife ate 

 steamed mussels from the same shop on 2/ 11/ '07. She 

 became ill on 13/ 11/ '07. W., B. and D. did not live 

 together, and there was no enteric at the place where 

 they lodged. 



These are some of the best of the cases. Many are 

 not nearly so good, and the evidence may reduce down to 

 this — that A. ate mussels at a date antecedent to the 

 onset of illness from enteric fever consistent with the 

 interpretation that the mussels were the cause of disease. 

 Now we must admit that there is some considerable 



