FOOD VALUE OF SEA MUSSELS. 
125 
when a sufficiently long time has elapsed since the ingestion of the mussels, follow the emetic with a 
purgative such as 60 grams of caster oil in a cup of light bouillon. If the symptoms continue in spite 
of these means, give the patient some mucilaginous drink and call a doctor. 
The foregoing account would probably frighten the average person from ever 
attempting to use mussels as an article of food. Careful inspection, however, will 
reveal the fact that the mussels which have caused serious illness came either from 
impure waters or had been exposed to the heat of the sun so long that ptomaines had 
time to form in the liquor within their shells. Mussels taken from pure water which 
has free circulation have never been known to produce injurious effects when eaten. 
A New York dealer who has been selling mussels for years has never known of a case 
of poisoning from them. Nevertheless, too much emphasis can not be given to the 
fact that care must be exercised in choosing proper localities for the cultivation and 
collection of mussels for market. They must be sold to the consumer in a perfectly 
fresh condition or serious results will be likely to follow. 
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 
1. The sea mussel, Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, is not utilized as a food to any extent in 
the United States outside of the vicinity of New York City. 
2. As a food material it is superior to many articles which are commonly eaten. 
Scores of persons have pronounced it to be equal in flavor, or even superior, to the oyster; 
it is easily digested, has high nutritive value, and is exceedingly abundant and general 
in its range. Especially for persons living on the coast it is an excellent cheap food. 
3. Along most of our eastern coast the mussel is in season for food purposes when 
the oyster is out of season. 
4. The mussel is well adapted to preservation. When canned or pickled it will 
retain its natural flavor for months. 
5. The mussel breeds at a prolific rate, it develops rapidly, requires less special 
conditions for growth than the oyster, and may therefore be easily cultivated. 
6. The only difficulty in the marketing of mussels for food purposes is that they 
spoil quickly after being removed from the water. It is necessary to use them within 
twenty-four hours after they are collected or ptomaine poisoning may result. To insure 
one’s self against illness from eating them, the mussels must be taken from water that 
is pure and subject to the constant circulation of tidal currents. 
7. Other important ways for utilizing mussels are as bait for the fisheries and as 
fertilizer for soil on which onions and carrots are to be raised. 
In view of these facts it is clear that the mussel beds of our eastern and western 
coasts constitute a valuable food resource of the nation which so far has not been devel- 
oped. The natural beds alone are capable of supplying wholesome food to thousands 
of persons at the expense of a little trouble to collect the mussels and to hundreds of 
thousands more people, through the markets, at a moderate price. It is possible to 
develop an industry in the marketing of mussels which may surpass even that of the 
oyster and at the same time have no injurious effect upon the oyster trade. The success 
