1 12 
bulletin of the bureau of fisheries. 
inclosed with f ^-inch mesh galvanized wire netting. The fourth side has a door 8 inches 
wide, running the length of the box. The door is clamped firmly in place by means of 
a lever, which is swung over it. The rest of the side is filled in with parallel strips of 
wood placed one-half inch apart. The projecting ends of the axis rest on the walls 
of a trough \ % feet deep, in which there is running- sea water. A crank at one end serves 
as a means to rotate the cage. 
About i bushel of mussels is placed in this cleaning apparatus, which is set in rota- 
tion at the rate of 30 revolutions a minute for fifteen minutes. The treatment cleans 
off from the shells all clinging sea weeds, sand, and debris, besides breaking open the 
Fig. 2. — Apparatus for cleaning mussels preparatory to canning or other preservation process. (Drawn 
for the author by Prof. L. C. Harrington.) 
shells of dead mussels and washing away the injurious substance contained within them. 
In the experimental work this method of cleaning mussels proved very effective. For 
cleaning on a commercial scale the device may easily be constructed on larger dimen- 
sions and operated by means of steam or water power. 
After this treatment the mussels are removed and rinsed off with clean water. 
They are placed in a chest and subjected to live steam for from five to ten minutes, or 
until the shells begin to open. They are next emptied out into shallow pans to cool 
and the natural liquor which has escaped into the chest is preserved in a separate dish. 
