38 
are seen to be dead. The mussels on tlie scaup are only uncovered 
during spring tides. At neap tides almost the whole is under water, 
tlie only accessible mussels being those on the slakes. The scaup 
mussels are the biggest, and grow well, although there is much 
gravelly space vacant here which might well be covered with them. 
They have lately decreased in this area, probably owing to the 
ravages of the small white whelk Purpura lapillus, which abounds 
there, covering the stones with its vase-shaped spawn (April and 
May). The fishermen bring the smaller mussels from Madge’s 
Batts and thereabouts, and plant them on the scaup to grow to a 
suitable size, and when they are from about If to 2^ inches in 
length they take them for bait. There are not many of these larger 
mussels, as the fishermen only transplant as many as they want for 
their own use. Many more small mussels might be transplanted. 
The old mussels which are the natives of the scaup are larger, and 
have thick and coarse shells. It is quite easy to distinguish them 
from the others, but there are few of these left now. The small 
Pea Crab, Pinnotheres pisum, L., is a constant inhabitant of these 
natives, but beyond perhaps making them thinner does not appear 
to deteriorate them. 
The mussels on the scaup and most of those on the slakes are 
owned by Lord Tankerville ; the remainder, on the northern part of 
the slakes, belong to Mr. Leyland, of Haggerston. The fishermen 
of Holy Island pay one shilling a year each to Lord Tankerville for 
the right to gather the mussels. 
Crabbing is the chief industry of Holy Island. The crab-pots 
are baited with fish, but as the lines on which the fish are caught 
are chiefly baited with mussel, a great many of these shells are 
wanted. The demand, however, does not exceed the supply, as 
there are many more mussels on Fenham Flats than are wanted by 
the local fishermen. They are small only because they are not 
properly cultivated. 
At spring tides the whole scaup is uncovered for two hours each 
tide, and it is only for a short time that the ground is available for 
collecting shell-fish. A few oysters occur here, but they are not 
natives ; the true old natives, which were of a particularly large 
size, are extinct. 
The Holy Island mussels are healthy and well fed, their 
stomachs being full of microscopic vegetable food. By the begin- 
ning of October they had finished spawning. During the Winter 
months they were filling out well, and were nearly ripe in May. 
The breeding season seems to be much the same as Budle. 
