192 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Shad and ale wife fishery oj the Potomac River, 1923 



PEARL-BUTTON INDUSTRY, 1922 



The canvassing of the Mississippi River and tributaries ami of the 

 Great Lakes in 1922 permits of a statistical summary of the pearl- 

 button industry of the interior United States. 



The fresh-water mussel, which furnishes the raw materials for this 

 industry occurs mainly in the Mississippi River and tributaries, the 

 yield of mussel shells in this region amounting to 51,768,173 pounds 

 valued at $1,050,592, to which may be added 6,245,975 pounds, val- 

 ued at $218,148, coming from rivers tributary to Lake Michigan and 

 Lake Erie, making a total of 58,014,148 pounds, vaWed at $1,268,740 

 in 1922. 



The manufacture of pearl buttons takes place principally in the 

 Mississippi River region, Muscatine, Iowa, being the center of the 

 industry, especially in the manufacture of the complete button. 

 There are many factories, scattered over the entire Mississippi Valley, 

 engaged in making button blanks only. Many of these are merely 

 branches of Muscatine or eastern button factories, while others work 

 under contract with these firms or sell the blanks on the open market. 

 One button factory, one blank factory, and one crusher, located in 

 Michigan, are the only establishments in the interior LTnited States 

 outside of the Mississippi region. 



Including these and one factory engaged in finishing and grading 

 only, there were, in 1922, 16 factories, with a value of $1,362,280. in 

 the interior United States engaged in making the complete button, and 

 100 factories, valued at $697,039, engaged in cutting blanks only. 

 Of the above factories 34 had crushers attached, valued at $46,744, for 

 grinding shells into a product sold mainly as poultry grit. There were 

 also four independent crushers, not attached to button or button- 

 blank factories. The total number of persons connected with this 

 industry in 1922 was 4,984, and the amount of wages paid was 

 $3,277,136, which included that paid in the manufacture of button 

 blanks shipped to button factories in the east. The total output of 



