48 
Ajfypeiidices to Ninth Annual Report 
of 38 2§ hundreds, and £73 in value on the returns of 18S9. The 
average price obtained was 8s. 8^d. per hundred, against 9s. 3d, in the 
former year. Inveraray district yielded 1,506 hundreds, and Ballantrae 
1,744 hundreds, or about 92*8 per cent, of all the oysters taken in 
Scotland in 1890, but these were taken from private oyster beds. A 
few hundreds were landed in the Leith and Stornoway districts. 
Mussel. — This is the only shell-fish which exhibited a decrease from 
the returns of 1889. The total quantity of mussels landed in 1890 was 
181,194 cwts., valued at £11, 201,— a falling off to the extent of 7,640 
cwts. and £476 in value. The average price was Is. 2|d. per cent., 
the same as in 1889. The East Coast yielded 150,366 cwts., the most 
prolific mussel beds there being situated in the upper reaches of the 
Firths of Forth and Tay, the mouth of the Eden, Moray Firth, and the 
Montrose district. Orkney and Shetland returned 3,505 cwts. and the 
West Coast 27,323 cwts. On the West Coast, a plentiful supply of 
mussels for bait is easily obtained by the locaJ fishermen in most of the 
sea lochs in their immediate neighbourhood, and occasionally extensive 
consignments are forwarded to the East Coast, particularly from the 
large mussel beds in the Clyde, off Port-Glasgow. The districts which 
showed the largest returns were Montrose, Anstruther, Leith, and 
Greenock. Large quantities of mussels were brought from Holland last 
year, chiefly to the Aberdeen stations, and gave great satisfaction to 
the fishermen, as they were superior to those of this country. 
Clam. — The total quantity landed last year amounted to 25,761 
cwts., valued at £3,311, being an increase on the preceding year of 
1,944 cwts. and £747 in value. The average price was 2s. 6|d. per 
cwt., against 2s. IJd. in 1889. Clams are chiefly found in the Firth 
of Forth, on extensive beds lying off" Prestonpans and Cockenzie. Leith 
district contributed 24,296 cwts. and Anstruther district 1,410 cwts. 
Inveraray, Stornoway, and Fort William also got a few clams. 
Lobster. — The total number of losters landed last year was 643,208, 
valued at £28,340, showing an increase on 1889 to the extent of 
66,760 and £3,891 respectively. The average price obtained was 
lO^d. each, against lOd. in the previous year. Stornoway district 
contributed more than one-third of the total take — the number landed 
there being 234,300. Orkney yielded 101,450, Loch Broom 60,800, 
Loch Carron and Skye 46,200, Wick 43,025, and Fort William 43,000. 
A few lobsters were landed at each of the other districts, with the 
exception of Shetland, where no lobsters are found. 
Crab. — Of crabs, the number landed last year was 2,882,341, 
valued at £14,568, being an increase on 1889 of 108,041 and 
£1,171 respectively. The average price was 2s. OJd. per score, against 
Is. lid. in the preceding year. The most productive districts were 
Leith, Anstruther, Montrose, Eyemouth, and Stonehaven. With the 
exception of Rothesay, Fort William, and Shetland, all the districts 
contributed more or less to the total number landed. The crabs taken 
on the West Coast are not much appreciated, being considered inferior 
to those found on the East Coast. 
Other Kinds of Shell Fish. — Those varieties of shell fish which are 
included under this head are chiefly the cockle, whelk, limpet, and 
razor-fish. The total quantity landed was 54, 169 J cwts., valued at 
£9,667, being an increase over 1889 of 538 J cwts. and £6 respectively. 
The average price was 3s. 6|d. per cwt., against 3s. 7d. in the former 
year. The districts which contributed the largest quantities were 
Stornoway, Orkney, Loch Carron and Skye, AVick, Leith, Montrose, 
Fort William, and Campbeltown. 
Cockles have always been found in greatest abundance on the West 
