﻿REPORT 
  OP 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  35 
  

  

  FRESH-WATER 
  PEARL-BUTTON 
  INDUSTRY. 
  

  

  A 
  statistical 
  canvass 
  of 
  this 
  business 
  was 
  conducted 
  in 
  connection 
  

   with 
  the 
  fresh-water 
  mussel 
  fishery, 
  and 
  detailed 
  figures 
  for 
  all 
  plants 
  

   in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  were 
  obtained 
  for 
  the 
  calendar 
  year 
  1912. 
  This 
  

   industry 
  has 
  had 
  an 
  interesting 
  history, 
  and 
  is 
  now 
  being 
  actively 
  

   aided 
  by 
  the 
  artificial 
  propagation 
  of 
  mussels 
  and 
  by 
  special 
  investi- 
  

   gations 
  of 
  mussel 
  resources 
  of 
  various 
  streams. 
  The 
  manufacture 
  of 
  

   pearl 
  buttons 
  from 
  the 
  shells 
  of 
  fresh-water 
  mussels 
  began 
  in 
  the 
  

   United 
  States 
  in 
  1891. 
  The 
  first 
  factory 
  was 
  at 
  Muscatine, 
  Iowa, 
  

   which 
  soon 
  became 
  and 
  still 
  is 
  an 
  important 
  center 
  of 
  the 
  business. 
  

   Plants 
  were 
  early 
  established 
  in 
  Illinois, 
  Wisconsin, 
  and 
  other 
  States 
  

   of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  Valley; 
  and 
  in 
  1912 
  the 
  industry, 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  its 
  

   branches, 
  was 
  conducted 
  in 
  20 
  States. 
  

  

  The 
  results 
  of 
  this 
  canvass, 
  as 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  table 
  on 
  pages 
  31 
  

   to 
  34, 
  have 
  already 
  been 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  trade 
  through 
  the 
  meduim 
  of 
  a 
  

   special 
  bulletin. 
  It 
  appears 
  that 
  about 
  8,400 
  persons 
  were 
  employed 
  

   and 
  that 
  over 
  $3,380,000 
  were 
  paid 
  in 
  wages. 
  The 
  capital 
  invested 
  

   in 
  the 
  industry 
  was 
  $3,110,000, 
  and 
  the 
  output 
  of 
  buttons, 
  blanks, 
  

   shells 
  for 
  export, 
  and 
  other 
  products 
  was 
  valued 
  at 
  $8,882,000. 
  

  

  TUNA 
  INDUSTRY 
  OF 
  CALIFORNIA. 
  

  

  The 
  California 
  tuna 
  fishery 
  and 
  the 
  canning 
  industry 
  connected 
  

   therewith 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  a 
  special 
  mquiry. 
  The 
  recent 
  

   growth 
  of 
  this 
  branch 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries 
  has 
  been 
  marked, 
  and 
  still 
  

   greater 
  development 
  may 
  be 
  expected 
  locally 
  and 
  elsewhere 
  as 
  a 
  

   result 
  of 
  the 
  success 
  attained. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  three 
  fish 
  known 
  locally 
  as 
  ''tuna'^ 
  in 
  California, 
  but 
  

   only 
  one 
  species, 
  the 
  long-finned 
  tuna 
  or 
  albacore 
  {Germo 
  alalunga), 
  

   is 
  used 
  for 
  canning 
  purposes. 
  The 
  long-finned 
  tuna 
  occurs 
  plentifully 
  

   in 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  southern 
  California 
  and 
  can 
  be 
  taken 
  with 
  so 
  little 
  

   effort 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  formerly 
  brought 
  into 
  port 
  in 
  considerable 
  numbers, 
  

   although 
  no 
  local 
  market 
  existed 
  at 
  the 
  time. 
  Experimental 
  canning 
  

   was 
  begim 
  about 
  five 
  years 
  ago 
  by 
  a 
  sardine-packing 
  concern 
  located 
  

   in 
  San 
  Pedro. 
  The 
  first 
  attempts 
  to 
  can 
  this 
  fish 
  were 
  unsat- 
  

   isfactory, 
  and 
  it 
  soon 
  became 
  apparent 
  that 
  some 
  radical 
  de- 
  

   parture 
  fit^m 
  the 
  ordinary 
  fish-canning 
  methods 
  would 
  be 
  necessary. 
  

   The 
  essential 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  method 
  finally 
  adopted 
  is 
  to 
  bake 
  the 
  

   fish 
  before 
  it 
  is 
  put 
  in 
  the 
  can 
  and 
  to 
  mtroduce 
  a 
  vegetable 
  oil 
  to 
  

   bring 
  out 
  the 
  latent 
  merits 
  of 
  the 
  tuna. 
  Other 
  plants 
  soon 
  sprang 
  

   up 
  at 
  San 
  Pedro 
  and 
  San 
  Diego, 
  and 
  the 
  pack 
  leaped 
  from 
  250 
  cases 
  

   the 
  first 
  year 
  to 
  115,000 
  cases 
  in 
  1913, 
  in 
  which 
  year 
  there 
  were 
  9 
  

   plants 
  m 
  operation. 
  The 
  indications 
  are 
  that 
  in 
  1914 
  the 
  output 
  

   may 
  reach 
  400,000 
  cases. 
  

  

  The 
  long-finned 
  tuna 
  is 
  comparatively 
  short 
  and 
  exceptionally 
  

   thick 
  bodied. 
  Although 
  smgle 
  specimens 
  weighmg 
  100 
  pounds 
  have 
  

   been 
  taken, 
  the 
  average 
  weight 
  is 
  about 
  30 
  pounds. 
  It 
  makes 
  its 
  

   appearance 
  in 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  southern 
  California 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  spring, 
  

   and 
  the 
  fishery 
  is 
  often 
  carried 
  on 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  December. 
  The 
  fisher- 
  

   men 
  report 
  that 
  these 
  fish 
  often 
  disappear 
  for 
  months 
  between 
  June 
  

   and 
  November, 
  and 
  the 
  theory 
  has 
  been 
  advanced 
  that 
  they 
  may 
  

   spawn 
  durmg 
  this 
  period. 
  The 
  long-fin 
  is 
  a 
  high-sea 
  fish, 
  rarely 
  taken 
  

   near 
  shore, 
  and 
  moves 
  m 
  large 
  well-distributed 
  schools 
  at 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  

  

  