46 
EDIBLE BRITISH MOLLIISKS. 
of a Naturalist/ gives an account of the origin and de- 
velopment of the mussel-trade on the French coast. 
An Irishman of the name of Walton was shipwrecked on 
the coast in 1235, near the little village of Esnandes, in 
the Bay of Aiguillon, and was the only person saved out 
of all the crew of the ill-fated vessel. He amply repaid 
the services which had been rendered him ; some sheep 
were saved from the wreck, which he crossed with the 
animals of the country, producing a breed of sheep 
which is still held in high estimation. He invented a 
kind of net, the ^allouret,^ for catching shore birds 
which skim the surface of the water at twilight or dark, 
and in order to make these nets thoroughly effective, it 
was necessary to go to the centre of the immense bed of 
mud, where the birds sought their food, and to secure a 
number of poles to support the nets, which were between 
300 and 400 yards in length. On examining these poles, 
Walton discovered that they were covered with mussel 
spawn. He then increased the number of his poles, and 
after various attempts he constructed his first artificial 
mussel-bed, or bouchot. At the level of the lowest tides 
he drove into the mud stakes that were strong enough 
to resist the force of the waves, and placed them in two 
rows about a yard distant from each other. This double 
line of poles formed an angle, whose base was directed 
towards the shore, and whose apex pointed to the sea. 
This palisade was roughly fenced in with long branches, 
and a narrow opening having been left at the extremity 
of the angle, wicker-work cases were arranged in such a 
manner as to stop any fishes that were being carried back 
by the retreating tide. It was soon found inexpedient 
to trust only to the chance of the currents and waves 
that might bring in the young mussels to the poles and 
