The question of whether steps should be taken to raise special funds on account of the additional burdens that would be placed upon the present boards is one that would be determined by each State in the light of its own conditions and established customs. It would be very undesirable to create a burdensome tax; to do so would only react against the State, and in the end the tax would be paid by the shellers, who are now making only a meager living, for the local shellers would have to sell in competition with the shellers from States where more liberal conditions prevail. It is another matter, however, to require a nominal license fee for the privilege of working upon the public mussel beds. Such a fee need not be greater than $1 or $2 per season, an amount which could be paid by anyone who wished to shell seriously. Perhaps the idea of a fee of any kind would arouse some antagonism among a certain class of shellers who would enjoy the public stores without return of any kind. Some shellers favor such a license system, and the writer believes that they must all eventually come to see that it works to their own particular advantage in many ways. It tends to create a class of professional shellers, besides providing the necessary means for promoting the abundance of shells. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION. The legislation recommended for protection of mussel beds, based upon the considerations discussed in the preceding pages, may be summarized as follows: I. (_a_) A single size limit should be fixed as applicable to all shells taken. The minimum size here proposed is 2 inches. (_b_) The method of measuring the shell should be defined as "in greatest dimension." (_c_) Possession of undersized shells, whether or not sold or offered for sale, should be illegal. (_d_) There should be an allowable margin of undersized shells for unintentional violation. II. (_a_) Alternate portions of rivers or river systems should be closed for a period of years, to permit recuperation of mussel beds. (_b_) The units of division of a river system should be large enough to make enforcement practicable with least expense. (_c_) The river would conveniently be broken at the few points where there is most community interest involved in the shelling. (_d_) Approximately five-year periods of closure are recommended, with some discretion allowed to executive officers as to duration of period. (_e_) Closed regions should be established by proclamation of the governor of the State, after expert examination of the mussel beds and after public hearings on the subject in the communities affected.