8 MUSSEL RESOURCES OF THE HOLSTON AND CLINCH RIVERS. 



The French Broad Kiver is described as being navigable, the 

 channel having been improved in some places through the construc- 

 tion of dams by the 'Government ; the bottom is coarse gravel ; in 

 places the river is bordered by farm land, while in other places steep 

 cliffs of rock border the stream. Marble quarries were noted. Marble 

 banks were also observed along the Tennessee River, while the bottom 

 of the stream was a coarse gravel. 



The presence of marble or limestone along the banks or the bed of 

 a stream constitutes a most favorable factor for mussel growth, since 

 the erosion of the rocks keeps the water supplied with the carbonate 

 of lime, which is the principal constituent of the shell. The stream 

 was quite large and, except on the shoals, quite deep; there were 

 places where the bottom could not be reached with a sounding pole 

 10 feet in length. Not one mussel was observed to be gravid, although 

 it was thought that the mussels of some species were preparing to 

 spawn. 



It was found that pearls were bought and sold on the streets of 

 Knoxville. Private collections were also observed, and a wide variety 

 of pearls and slugs of good quality were seen. Since it was learned 

 that most of the pearls come from the Clinch River, Mr. Boepple pro- 

 ceeded at once to make an examination of the mussel beds of that 

 river from Dutch to Clinton, Tenn. 



THE CLINCH RIVER FROM DUTCH TO CLINTON, TENN. 



Investigations on the Clinch River were begun October 25, 1909, 

 at Dutch, Tenn., near the raikoad bridge, where shells could be taken 

 by wading. The water was sufficiently clear to distinguish mussels 

 on the bottom at a depth of 2 feet, but they were found to be very 

 scattering. At the Sycamore Shoals fishing was undertaken with the 

 rake. Chiefly small mussels were found both above the shoal and in 

 the shoal, but not immediately below. 



The bottom of the river here was of rough gravel and sand; there 

 were a good many reefs ("hogbacks") and in some places the rocky 

 bottom took the form of steps, over which it was difficult to work the 

 small boat. Between the reefs th^ water was so clear that mussels 

 could be seen at a depth of 4 feet. On both banks were bluffs of lime- 

 stone rock. 



The following mussels were found to be in breeding condition: 

 Muckets (Lamjysilis ligamentina) ; yellow-back muckets (L. liga- 

 mentina gihha); pocketbook (L. ventricosa) ; a small muckct, species 

 uncertain; a fluted-shell (Symjjhynota costata) ; oyster mussel (Trun- 

 cilla perplexa); the black sand-shell (L. recta). Large numbers of 

 mussels discarded by the pearl fishers were observed in the river, and 

 a little farther down were piles of shells on the banks containing as 

 much as 2 tons, 75 per cent of which were shells of the best muckets. 



