FOOD VALUE OF SEA MUSSELS. 
I 2 I 
the lower rows. The poorest of cultivated mussels are considered superior to the best 
mussels grown under natural conditions. 
To traverse the soft mud from one buchot to the other Walton devised the “aeon,” 
a characteristic mudboat still used by the bucholeurs. Herdman (1894) describes it as 
follows : 
The “aeon” is composed of a piank forming the bottom and bent up in front to make a flat prow. 
The sides and stern are each made of one piece of wood, sometimes the sides are of two planks each. 
The size is 9 or 10 feet in length, from 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches wide, and about 1 foot 6 inches deep. 
There is a shelf at the stern, a narrow thwart close to the bow, and a small wooden Stool in the middle 
of the floor; these with a wooden paddle and a short pole complete the equipment. The boatman in 
using the “aeon” faces the bow, grasps the sides about the middle firmly with both hands, rests his 
left knee on the floor of the boat, and putting his right leg (encased in a long sea boot) over the side, 
he plunges it into the mud and pushes it onward. He is able to propel it at a great rate over the soft 
mud, and when he gets to a channel of water where the “aeon” floats he works with paddle or pole 
until he again reaches mud and is able to use his foot. 
The British method of mussel culture, briefly, is to collect young mussels from salt 
water and transfer them to artificial beds in favorable localities. These are generally 
situated in estuaries where the water is brackish and where they are not exposed at 
low tide, both of which conditions are supposed by many to favor growth and fattening. 
Others believe that the presence of fresh water is injurious to the young shellfish and of 
no advantage to the full-grown individuals. To support their views they point to the 
large beds of healthy, uniform-sized individuals in regions far removed from the influence 
of fresh water. Harding (1883) believes that the spat will not mature in anything but 
pure sea water, but that for fattening full-grown mussels brackish water of the density 
1. 014 is most suitable. It has been estimated that the average yearly yield of an acre 
of such mussel beds is 108 tons, worth at least $ 262 . 
Careful cultivators observe several rules in planting mussels. They may be planted 
on almost any natural bottom, but rich estuarine flats where there is plenty of sand and 
gravel covered with mud rich in diatoms, infusoria, and spores of algae is considered the 
ideal situation. They are placed in positions where they are not exposed to dangers from 
floods, gales, shifting sands, or frost. The beds are so placed that they will not be un- 
covered long at low tide nor where silt is likely to deposit upon them. Should this evil be 
discovered the bed is immediately transplanted to a better situation. In planting the 
beds care is taken not to place the individuals so close together that one will come to 
lie on another and thus cause a too crowded condition. 
For collecting the mussels a rake or dredge is used, the former instrument being 
considered better than the latter for the reason that it does not crush the shells nor cause 
sand to shift over the bed. In size it has a breadth of about 18 inches, with the teeth 1 
inch apart. It is fixed to a pole 20 to 25 feet long and has a wire net bag behind it for 
holding the catch. The large and small mussels are separated by means of a riddle, 
which is an instrument having a i-inch iron mesh. The bunches of various size mussels 
are first separated by hand and then sifted, or riddled. The large and small mussels 
thus divided are then placed in separate beds or the large ones utilized for bait. 
