330 Part III. — Seventh Annual Report 



men belonging to the town of Montrose rake the seed out of the river and 

 sell it to Messrs Johnston & Sons, or transplant it to a portion of ground 

 on the east side of the Tayock Burn, which is claimed by the municipality 

 of Montrose. 



When Mr Johnston started the mussel society, 'the members, with 

 their boats, took the seed to the ground,' but in September 1856, after a 

 good deal of correspondence and many enquiries as to the cultivation of 

 mussels, and a visit of Mr Johnston to St Andrews, a change took place 

 in the working of the beds. A regular staff was organised to seed and 

 plant the Rossie beds, so that it was no longer necessary to interrupt the 

 labours of the line fishermen, by withdrawing them even for a day from 

 the fishing, nor for the women to wade and gather the mussels from the 

 banks. 



So that now at Montrose there are three classes employed in connection 

 with mussel culture — 1st, those who rake the seed from the river ; 2nd, 

 those who lay it on the beds and perform the duties of subsequent 

 cultivation ; and, 3rd, those who combine both duties. 



The seed, once secured, is carried by the cobles or boats up the river 

 and transferred to the mussel banks, where it grows and matures. The 

 bank selected depends on various circumstances, such as the quantity of 

 mud on it, whether it is ready for the planting of seed, and the 

 condition of the other banks. When mussels lie for several years on a 

 bank, the height of the bank is greatly increased by the accumulation of 

 mud, so that immediately after the removal of bait-mussels the surplus 

 mud has to be got rid of, and the height of the bank lowered. But owing 

 to the slowness of the currents in the Montrose Basin, except at its narrow 

 outlet side, and the small quantity of running water which is in the River 

 Southesk, it takes from one to two years to clear and lower the banks. 



When the bank is ready for planting, the young mussels, which are from 

 half to three quarters of an inch in length, are laid down on it. In the 

 laying down of the 'seed' on suitable ground, the molluscs are placed 

 regularly and carefully in a sloping position, with the end, where the 

 siphons of the mollusc project, uppermost. The tendency seems to be to 

 transfer the seed first to one of the higher banks on which it is impossible 

 for mussels to attain any great size, unless after a lapse of from five to 

 eight years. In this way the lower and best growing banks can be 

 utilised to rear mussels of bait size by the transference of the smaller 

 mussels from the higher banks, and so economical management of the 

 beds is promoted. 



After a tide or two the mussel spins a new byssus, and becomes attached 

 to the sand and gravel of the banks. The mussels are, likewise, attached 

 by the byssus threads to one another, so that in attempting to lift one, the 

 matted cluster of which it is a member is taken away. For some time 

 after transplanting, growth does not rapidly take place except in the case 

 of those situated on the edge of the bank. The mussel retains the vertical, 

 or nearly vertical, position, the posterior or siphonal end being directed 

 upwards, while the hinge end is buried in the ground. If the mussels are 

 left long on a high bank they become stunted in appearance, and additions 

 take place to the shell in thickness rather than in length, the consequence 

 being that the mussel assumes an inelegant shape and a blunted aspect at 

 the posterior end, and instead of a brownish black layer of periostracum 

 on the outside of the shell, a greyish coating there indicates the dwarfing 

 of the mollusc. These mussels are locally known as 'Crocks.' When 

 they are transferred to lower banks, and banks more within the reach of 

 the tide, they soon begin to grow, and the capacity of the contained space 

 becomes enlarged. 



