In concluding this section emphasis may be laid on the value of certain
details of legislation.
_Allowable margin of undersized shells._--While it may seem desirable
that no undersized shell at any time should be taken away, nevertheless
it is necessary to make allowance for a margin of unintentional error.
Only if the shellers and buyers were to apply an instrument of measure
to each individual shell would all possibility of error be eliminated.
The sheller will naturally, after a few measurements, come to judge by
the eye, and it is desirable that the law should be somewhat liberal,
rather than too stringent in the allowance for mistakes. There should,
accordingly, be a supplemental provision that if not more than 5 per
cent of the shells by number (not by weight) of any bushel are found to
be below the size limit, the law shall not be presumed to be violated.
_Illegal possession._--To be practicable of enforcement, the law should
be so worded as to make it illegal not only to bring ashore or to offer
for sale, but also to have in possession, fresh-water mussels or clams
of a size less than 2 inches in greatest dimension. This one provision
will obviate much unnecessary expense, as well as undesirable
complications in the detection of violations and the prosecution of
offenders. Furthermore, since buyers of the shells would be equally
liable to prosecution, the effect would be to destroy the market for
undersized shells, and thus in the most effective way to restrain the
shellers from taking them.
_Method of measuring mussels._--It will be noted that the method of
measure is stated as "in greatest dimension," with a view to
eliminating every possibility of uncertainty or difference of opinion.
Mussels are sometimes measured in length or width or height, but on
account of the irregular form of mussel shells these dimensions are not
always interpreted in the same way. In testing the blank-making
capacity of a shell, commercial men sometimes measure the "width on the
face"; that is, between the lateral hinge tooth and the lower margin of
the shell. This measure can of course only be taken from an open shell,
and therefore could not serve for our purpose. It is worth while to
call attention to the fact that a 2-inch shell as measured in greatest
dimension would be a good deal smaller than a 2-inch shell in
commercial measurement.
An inspector would need to be equipped with an ordinary rectangular
caliper. If a shell should be found to measure more than 2 inches in
any linear direction it would be considered as above the size limit.