4 U. S, BUREAU or FISHERIES. 



There are also small bars and patches here and there on good bot- 

 toms and scattering mussels between large adjacent beds where the 

 current is moderate and the bottom is somewhat unstable or else 

 too hard for safe burrowing. Wherever a favorable bottom of any 

 size occurs in the streams mussels are to be found. A good indica- 

 tion of a shell bed, particularly alongshore, is a growth of water 

 willows in moderate current. 



The most productive mussel area in North Fork is the stretch 

 from Hazard, Perry County, to Log Shoals, Lee County, a distance 

 of about 75 miles. The following list of beds in North Fork were 

 worked to some extent during the shelling seasons of 1919 and 1920 : 



Doughty Shoals, 2i miles above Haddix, Breathitt County. 



Jackson or Coal Chute Bed, Jackson. 



War Shoals, 3 miles below Ohio & Kentucky Railroad Junction, 



Si Bend, 2 miles above Frozen. 



Frozen Bed, Frozen. 



Cedar Point Shoals, 3 miles below Frozen. 



War Creek Shoals, near county line between Breathitt and Lee Counties. 



Hieronymus Ford, Lee and Wolfe Counties. 



Hays Bar, Lee County. 



Upper Twin Shoals, 10 miles above Beattyville. 



Tea Table Shoals, oft Tea Table Branch, Lee County. 



Aggie Riffle, near Primrose. 



Laurel Shoals, off Laurel Branch, Lee County. 



Log Shoals, off Log Branch and at the head of slack water. 



Only limited shelling has been carried on in Middle Fork. The 

 best beds in this stream are as follows : 



Mill Creek Shoals and vicinity, near Tallega, Lee County. 

 Section between Monica, Lee County, and Athol, Breathitt County. 



There are doubtless some good beds above these stretches, but the 

 stream becomes rather small and transportation facilities are unsatis- 

 factory for heavy loads. 



No shelling has been done in South Fork. There are small beds 

 in the section of the stream between the head of slack water and 

 Booneville, Owsley County, thence to Bronner Bend, about 5 miles 

 by water above Booneville, and at points above. There are no 

 railroad or steamboat shipping facilities on this fork, and during 

 periods of low stage of water it is impossible to tow heavy loads 

 in small flatboats or barges. This would necessitate hauling over- 

 land over rough roads. 



As an indication of the productiveness of the upper reaches of 

 the Kentucky River it should be mentioned that during the shelling 

 operations of 1919 two carloads of marketable shells were gathered 

 from the beds of North and Middle Forks and sold at a good price. 

 So far as was determined by an inspection of the grounds, the beds 

 were not injured by the season's industry. In 1920 the stretch from 

 above Haddix to Log Shoals, a distance of about 35 miles, gave a 

 return of 87 tons of desirable shells. Rain, high water, and a gen- 

 eral shortage of help prevented a greater yield. 



It is not to be understood that the output of these streams will 

 equal that of such rivers as the Cumberland, Wabash, or Illinois, 

 or that the supply will be inexhaustible. It is evident, however, that 

 if fished within reason and at the proper seasons, they will yield 

 an appreciable regular annual return. With continued heavy and 

 undue shelling, they are liable to reach depletion Avithin two or 

 three years. 



