ORIGIN OF MUSSEL CATCHING.
Mussel culture in France—where it is carried on more extensively than anywhere else—originated so far back as 1235, when an Irish ship was wrecked near La Rochelle. One of the rescued sailors, James Walton, being hard put to it for a living, conceived the plan of setting nets on poles for the capture of sea-fowl at night, the muddy shores of the bay being frequented by these birds in large numbers. Before long he noticed that >-myriads of young mussels became attached to the stakes, and that, being above the level of the mud, these grew rapidly.
Thereupon he interlaced branches of trees between the stakes, thus forming a kind of wicker-work, which also became coated with mussels. Walton's example was followed by some of the natives of La Rochelle, and an industry was started which has now flourished for close on 800 years.
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Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 23 June 1915, Page 7
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148ORIGIN OF MUSSEL CATCHING. Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 23 June 1915, Page 7
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