The mussel beds of Northumberland / by Marie V. Lebour.

  • Lebour, Marie Victoria, 1876-1971.
Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The mussel beds of Northumberland / by Marie V. Lebour. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    THE MUSSEL BEDS OF NORTHUMBERLAND. (With Maps I.—VI.) By MARIE V. LEBOUR, B.Sc., Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The following is an account of an investigation of the Mussel Beds of Northumberland, undertaken during the sessions 1905-6 and 1906-7, with the intention of making a study of the condition of the mussels in the various beds, their breeding seasons, and the nature of their surroundings. There is a great want of mussels for bait along the coast, the chief reasons for the scarcity being improvidence in over-gathering, and the action of storms which carry away the spat and prevent its settling, often also destroying the shelter of the existing beds. The mud and sand brought down by floods and currents during such storms are harmful, as they frequently choke up and kill large patches of mussels. In no case does there seem to be any pollution of the beds, the scaups being situated in favourable places, which are comparatively free from the risk of sewage contamination. The mussels which are or have been cultivated are all worked on the bed system, which seems the only suitable method on this coast. The Buchot system used so much abroad could only be applied at Budle and Holy Island; it would, however, be in- advisable to risk so much expense on a venture which most probably would be unsuccessful, as it has been tried on the Scotch mussel beds with small success. The only bed on this coast which can really be said to be cultivated now is that at the mouth of the River Waren (i.e., Budle Bay), where good mussels are flourishing, although not now in great numbers. It is well known that it is chiefly in the neighbourhood of river mouths that mussels are to be found, and there are several such suitable places between the Tyne and the Tweed, the following rivers opening into the sea:—Blyth, Wansbeck, Lyne, Coquet, Ain, and Waren. Of the small streams or burns those running on to Fenham Flats are of significance, and the Holywell Bffrn at Seaton Sluice may be mentioned. The Tyne must be put out of con- sideration altogether, the present conditions being quite unsuited to
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