—Edible portion:
| Fresh. | Dry. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water, | 74.47 | percent | ||
| Protein, | 21.23 | „ | 83.13 | percent |
| Fat, | 3.47 | „ | 13.59 | „ |
| Ash, | 1.02 | „ | 3.99 | „ |
The Mussel.
—The mussel may be described as a fresh-water oyster. It occurs in almost all parts of the United States in the fresh waters and in external appearance resembles to some extent the oyster, but the shell is usually smoother. In the mussel is often developed concretions of the carbonate of lime in a particular form known as pearls. In fact the chief value of the mussel is in the supply of pearls which they furnish, since their flesh, although often eaten, is not considered very palatable nor desirable. Pearls may be found in mussels in every locality, but in some regions they are more abundant than in others,—for instance, the mussels of Wisconsin are especially noted for the occurrence of the pearls. Pearls are also frequently found in oysters, but by no means so frequently as in the mussel.
Composition of the Mussel.
—The edible portion of the mussel forms about one-half its weight.
| Water, | 78.64 | percent |
| Protein, | 12.51 | „ |
| Fat, | 1.67 | „ |
| Ash, | 1.73 | „ |
| Undetermined, | 5.45 | „ |
Oysters.
—Oysters belong to a class of animals known as mollusks. They grow in salt or brackish water and are found along almost the whole of the coast of the United States. They exist in the greatest abundance along the coast in the vicinity of Long Island Sound, Norfolk, Virginia, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and along the Pacific coast from San Francisco to the northern limits of Washington.