THE MUSSELS OF THE CUMBERLAND RIVER AND ITS 



TRIBUTARIES. 



By Charles B. Wilson and H. Walton Clark. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain the distribution, 

 relative abundance, and habits of the various mussel species living 

 in the river and its tributaries, and to make an intelligent appraisal of 

 the mussel resources of the river from a commercial standpoint. 



The party was under the supervision of Dr. Kobert E. Coker, 

 director of the United States Biological Station at Fairport, Iowa, who 

 furnished general instructions to be used by all field parties engaged 

 in mussel investigations. In addition to the authors, the party 

 included the late Mr. J. F. Boepple, the shell expert of the Fahport 

 station, and Mr. Ernest Danglade, now scientific assistant in the 

 Bureau of Fisheries, each of whom contributed fully as much as either 

 of the authors to the success of the investigations. 



The work was begun about May 10 near the mouth of the Cumber- 

 land River, and conducted thence upstream through the State of 

 Kentucky and into Tennessee as far as Clarksville. During the pre- 

 vious year it had been carried from Pineville, Ky., to Celina, Tenn. 

 Accordingly, it was now resumed at Celina, where the Obey River, 

 a tributary of the Cumberland from the south, was investigated. 

 Thence the work continued slowly down the Cumberland itself. 



From Jellico, Tenn., and Williamsburg, Savoy, Corbin, Livingston, 

 and Barbourville, Ky., as centers, the upper portions of the Cumber- 

 land River, the Clear Fork, Big South Fork, Laurel and Rock Castle 

 Rivers were examined. Neither the main river nor any of these 

 tributaries is navigable for a boat, so that the investigations had to 

 be conducted by team, driving along the banks or visiting convenient 

 fords and shallows. 



The party then drove by team from Williamsburg to the Cumber- 

 land Falls, proceeded again by team from the falls to Parkers Lake 

 station, and thence by rail to Burnside, Ky. This is the head of 

 steamboat navigation on the river, and here a small boat was con- 

 structed in which to proceed down the main river, thus completing 

 the survey of the entire river. 



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