6 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



abundance and crowded condition of the mussels in many localities. 

 On a bed in North Fork, Hays Bar, Lee County, a fisherman-^ stand- 

 ings in water about 2 feet deep, gathered from one spot, without 

 moving his feet, 50 muekets and one lady-finger, A yard further out 

 in the river and under similar conditions he took 81 mussels, enumer- 

 ated as follows: 77 muekets, 1 pistol-grip, 1 lady-finger, 1 pink heel- 

 splitter, and 1 fluted shell. In the same stream at Doughty Shoals, 

 Breathitt County, a sheller gathered from a spot of sand bottom 

 formed below a large rock 170 mussels, mostly mature muekets. On 

 tliis latter bed, which had been worked during the season of 1920, 

 there were observed on an area of 1 square foot the extreme tips of 

 11 large, deeply burrowed muekets. 



The nacre of the muekets is usually clear white with very rare 

 brownish stains in the region of the umbone. The shell texture is 

 firm, in some mussels quite hard, with a tendency to be brittle. The 

 mussels are, however, of good quality, though perhaps not equal to 

 that of the same species of more northern streams. The medium and 

 smaller sized shells of this mucket are tolerably uniform in thickness 

 and furnish the best button material. This uniformity of thickness 

 makes it possible to cut excellent tips from the shells. The older 

 shells are much thicker anteriorly and correspondingly heavier. 



The mucket appears to be holding its own in the Kentucky Kiver, 

 as a great many of the mussels found were gravid. A large number 

 of juveniles of this species were also encountered, and it appears 

 that natural reproduction of this species is occurring in large amount. 

 The shells of commercial size, number per ton, are as follows : Large 

 size, 3,200; medium, 4,200; and small, 7,100. 



The washboard shells are for the most part very large and very 

 heavy shells, with good white nacre and very few stains. The black 

 sand-shells are white nacred and of a weight and texture desirable 

 for button manufacture. 



The mussel fauna of the Kentucky, as determined principally by 

 the species found in the headwaters and creeks, is practically that of 

 the Ohio. This is especially indicated in the headwaters by the 

 great frequency of the mucket shell. This fact is emphasized also 

 by the occurrence on the upstream beds of the following species: 

 Truncilla rangiana, Ohovaria lens^ Quadrula ruhiginosa, and Lavip- 

 silis luteola. The only species indicating a faunal connection with 

 the Cumberland drainage is AlasTnidonta minor, which was taken 

 near the extreme upper limits of the river, not far from the source 

 of the Cumberland. The following mussels, connnon on many shell 

 beds of the Ohio and more or less large river forms, were not ob- 

 served in the Kentucky: Niggerhead, Quadi^da ehenus; Ohio River 

 pig-toe, Q. ohliqua; elephant's ear, Vnio crassklens ; Missouri nigger- 

 head, Ohovaria ellipsis; and butterfly, Plagiola secuHs. The absence 

 of these shells is perhaps due to their restricted parasitism of fishes 

 that do not ascend the Kentucky River from the Ohio. This is 

 ])articularly true of the river herring, the host of the niggerhead. 

 It is not known to have been taken in the headwaters of the Ken- 

 tucky drainage. 



The principal fishes observed in the Kentucky River that are im- 

 portant in keeping the mussel beds stocked are the black bass, the 

 sunfish, the drum, the channel and mud catfishes, gars, suckers, red- 

 horse, and minnows. 



