PEARLY FRESH-WATER MUSSELS 87 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 38a 



cue-quarter of a mile in length. Previous to this cut the river made an abrupt turn 

 at Grand Bend when within one-quarter of a mile from the lake, and it flowed almost 

 parallel to the lake shore to the natural outlet, below Port Franks. This deviation 

 of its course was probably due to the sand collecting near its northwesterly banks, 

 forcing the river southwards. 



Owing to the frequently occurring floods on the lowlands, the Canada Company, 

 v.liich owns extensive tracks of land in the district, decided to make a cut from the 

 northwestward flowing arm of the river to the southward arm. I shall refer to it as 

 the " Canada Company Cut." It passes through the former lake Burwell and is 3.5 

 miles in length. Later on, wishing to further improve their lands, the Company 

 put the second cut through at Grand Bend, diverting the river directly into the lake. 

 Although the upper part of the old river channel, between Grand Bend and the lower 

 cut ds dry, it still contains a large volume of water. It approximates, in fact, to a 

 narrow lake about 8 miles in length. In places it is a few hundred feet wide and quite 

 deep. The greatest depth at which I took soundings was 17 feet. A fair and appar- 

 ently continuous current of water flows from it into the main stream at the cut. 



Previous to the construction of the artificial channels the river must have been 

 admirably suited to the support of mussel life. Even when the second cut was put in 

 at Grand Bend, and the water let off, I am told by an old resident, Mr. Brenner, that 

 tlie bed was paved with shells for a considerable distance, many of these being of very 

 large size. 



On ascending the river for a few miles from Grand Bend we found large numbers 

 of good-sized clam shells lying on the banks, evidently thrown up in dredging the bed 

 after the cut had been made. In the river we also found quite a number of large 

 mussels of commercial value, the species Q. undulata predominating. Other species 

 f'lund were L. luteola, L. ventricosa, the large but useless A. grandis, and a dead 

 8. costata. These mussels were lying about on the bed of the river, in water about 

 a foot deep. With the small amount of water flowing it is difficult to understand how 

 such a quantity of mussels of good size could be maintained. Hand picking here would 

 yield a fair quantity of commercial shells, but since the river is small the supply 

 would soon be exhausted. From Grand Bend we went to Port Franks and crossing 

 tiic Canada Co. Cut near its western terminus, investigated the water for clams. We 

 found a small bed near the bridge, in shallow water, somewhat protected from the 

 main current. Many of the shells were of large size and also represented quite a 

 variety of species: — L. recta, L. centncosa, L. luteola, Q. undulata, Q. ruhiginosa; 

 and S. costata. In the commercial appraisal the uteolas, sent from this locality, were 

 reported on in conjunction with those fromi the Grand so that I cannot state pre- 

 cisely what their grade is. We found L. recta 6 inches in length and of very fine 

 quality. It was gratifying to find such a collection of shells in an artificial waterway. 

 At Port Franks I was told that the vicinity contained " oceans of sihells." As I was 

 not yet acquainted with the river bed, I hoped for good things from it, thinking I might 

 find a suitable area for L. luteola. 



As stated above, this old channel constitutes a rather long narrow lake from which 

 a small stream of water flows. The bottom of this bed is in many places densely 

 covered with aquatic vegetation, Chara predominating. The shores are usually either 

 steep or marshy. Large clams in considerable quantities were found in the shallow 

 water along the shore, where they appear to be somewhat generally distributed. The 

 commonest species is Q. undulata, although the Lampsilis group is also represented. 

 I also found one Q. ruiignosa. I found it to be practically impossible to determine 

 the extent of the mussel life beyond a short distance from shore, except in very deep 

 parts, and in the upper stretches where quite large barren areas of compact bottom 

 obtain. The small crow-foot bar which I had made for shell prospecting, proved in 

 general absolutely valueless here on account of the dense mat of vegetation covering a 

 large part of the river bed. With a good motor launch and a heavy dredge one might 



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