110 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



bulk of the mussels about 2J times, and the increase in length 

 to the original shell was in some cases well over an inch. 



Experiments have also been made on the Lancashire 

 coast in the transplantation of cockles from over-crowded 

 to less crowded sands with equally favourable results.* 



It is obvious that when, on the conclusion of war, many 

 men return to work along our coasts, any increase of employ- 

 ment in connection with local fishing industries will be of 

 direct and immediate advantage to the country. It is to be 

 hoped that nothing will be allowed to interfere with this work, 

 and that whenever possible further funds will be devoted 

 towards the promotion of schemes which seem desirable, if 

 not indeed essential, from the point of view of the industry 

 and of public health alike. In connection with the public 

 health aspect of the matter, much of Br. Johnstone's work 

 on the Lancashire coast for some years back has dealt with 

 the condition of the shell-fish beds in relation to sewage con- 

 tamination, by means both of topographical inspection on 

 the shore and of subsequent bacteriological investigations 

 of samples in the laboratory. All this work has been recorded 

 in detail in our recent Annual Reports, so it is unnecessary 

 for me to say anything further than to emphatically declare 

 my belief in the very great importance of this work. 



As an example of a local fishery which has been started 

 as the result of a little ingenuity and enterprise, we may take 

 the Morecambe winter sprat fishery which has developed 

 during the last few years. The fish are being caught in great 

 quantities by a new method, which is the " stow " net modified 

 to suit the conditions prevailing in the strong tidal currents of the 

 Morecambe Bay channels. As many as twenty-five boats were 

 employed in one day during last winter's fishery, which began 

 in October, 1915, and lasted till March, 1916. The invasion 



* For further details, reference must be made to the successive Annual 

 Reports of the Committee. 



