80 
part, and along its course the mussels are rather more plentiful and 
not so much buried in the mud. With the exception of these the 
mussels are to be found close to the water’s edge at low tide, very 
much scattered, sometimes a few together, sometimes isolated. 
All burrowing in the mud, generally so deep that only the smallest 
part of the posterior end of the shells is visible. They are very 
difficult to find when one is not used to it, but the practised eye of 
the fisherman soon finds them out, and many people search for 
them at low tide. These mussels are not altogether native ; some 
were planted by Mr. Dent in 1893, and grew well for a time. Those 
that are still to be found are good, the average size being 2£ to 2f 
inches long, and nearly all of the particular variety known to 
conchologists as gallopr ovine ialis. The shells are very smooth, 
since, owing to their burrowing habit, few encrusting animals or 
weeds grow on them. The shape is usually broad and flat, which 
is frequently seen in burrowing mollusks. 
The animals collected were all perfectly healthy ; several of the 
stomachs were examined and were full of fine mud, containing a 
plentiful supply of food, chiefly Diatoms, one commonly occurring 
was Melosina montagui. The spatting is certainly over by the end 
of September, as all the specimens then seen were spent. By 
January they are filling out well, and begin to be ripe about June. 
The summer months are evidently the breeding season. 
The commonest mollusks living with the mussels are Cardium 
edule, Macoma balthica, Scrobicularia plana, Mya arenaria, Littorina 
littorea, L. rudis, L. obtusata, and Paludestrina stagnalis. The 
‘ clams ’ (Mya arenaria) occur abundantly at extreme low water 
mark in the bed, burrowing about six inches in the mud. The 
shells are small and as a rule distorted, but the people dig them up 
and eat them. In spite of the fact that the mussels are healthy 
and well fed, there is a great scarcity of them, and they are 
dwindling fast, although there is plenty of spat, for the woodwork 
of the piers, and almost any object left in the water for some time, 
are covered with young mussels. There is a twofold reason for this 
scarcity of mussels in such a favourable place, one of which is 
unfortunately unavoidable — viz., the dredging. Every year the bed 
of the river is artifically deepened and the dredgers take away more 
and more land, thus actually removing the homes of the mussels. 
The other reason is that the mussels are not protected in any way, 
and the fishermen come and take any they can find, searching most 
carefully. This is the case all over the woodwork of the piers, and 
