ON MUSSEL CULTURE ON THE COAST 
OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 
As the only place where any attempt at mussel cultivation is 
made on this coast is at Budle Bay, my remarks will in the main be 
descriptive of the work which is being carried on there. I was 
enabled last summer to visit the beds which have been laid down 
by Major Browne, of Callaly Castle, and through the kindness of 
Mr. William King, who directs the mussel farm, I saw a great deal 
and learned much in regard to the experiences and observations 
furnished during the eight years of their existence. Mr. John Dent 
made a similar effort to stock beds on the Blyth, but the improvi- 
dence of the fishermen brought his experiment to an untimely and 
unfortunate conclusion. 
The bait of the district, beside that which is got from Budle Bay, 
and the small quantities which can be gathered from places where 
it grows naturally to a useful size, is obtained from the Tees, 
Boston, Newhaven, Port Glasgow, Ireland, and Harlingen. Culler- 
coats, when all the cobles are engaged, requires about thirty cwts. 
per day, or say nine tons per week ; and if we only assume a fishing 
season of twenty-four weeks, this gives a total of over 200 tons for 
the year. The other villages of the southern half of the district 
would require between them about 000 tons. And thus, for the 
whole district, at a low computation, we should say that 1,500 tons 
are needed. 
At present the whole of this, except about 200 tons supplied 
from Budle Bay, is got from a distance, and it therefore behoves us 
to ask if it would not be possible to increase the home supply. 
The mussel ( My til us edulis) occurs naturally very commonly 
along the coast, but it is only in certain favourable situations that 
it grows to a bait size. These places are necessarily at the mouths 
of rivers and other sheltered situations where a plentiful supply of 
food occurs. Many of these places could easily be improved, and 
one or two might be made into very useful mussel farms. But one 
has in the first instance to deal with the fishermen. Our friends 
along the coast do not believe in saving any of the mussels to pro- 
vide “seed” for future years. They are firm believers in spontaneous 
