﻿18 
  MUSSEL 
  RESOURCES 
  OF 
  THE 
  ILLINOIS 
  RIVER. 
  

  

  of 
  mud 
  and 
  sand, 
  covered 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  with 
  dead 
  shells 
  and 
  trash. 
  

   At 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Mackinaw 
  River 
  the 
  bottom 
  was 
  soft 
  mud 
  and 
  prac- 
  

   tically 
  without 
  mussels. 
  The 
  water 
  had 
  a 
  very 
  bad 
  odor, 
  due 
  to 
  

   sewage 
  pollution. 
  In 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  soft-mud 
  bottoms, 
  Mr. 
  Free- 
  

   land 
  states: 
  '' 
  I 
  jumped 
  from 
  the 
  front 
  end 
  of 
  a 
  launch 
  near 
  Copperas 
  

   Creek 
  Locks 
  and 
  sank 
  into 
  the 
  mud 
  almost 
  to 
  my 
  hips. 
  At 
  the 
  mouth 
  

   of 
  Old 
  Crow 
  Creek 
  at 
  Chillicothe, 
  at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Mackinaw 
  River 
  

   below 
  Pekin, 
  above 
  Copperas 
  Creek 
  Locks 
  and 
  Dam 
  at 
  Liverpool, 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  narrow 
  reach 
  between 
  Liverpool 
  and 
  Havana 
  tliis 
  condition 
  

   exists, 
  not 
  only 
  near 
  the 
  shore, 
  but 
  all 
  the 
  way 
  across 
  the 
  river. 
  At 
  

   Liverpool 
  the 
  weight 
  on 
  the 
  sounding 
  line 
  sank 
  into 
  the 
  mud 
  at 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  when 
  attempts 
  were 
  made 
  to 
  ascertain 
  water 
  

   depths." 
  The 
  percentages 
  of 
  shells 
  of 
  this 
  stretch 
  are 
  about 
  as 
  

   follows 
  : 
  

  

  Per 
  cent. 
  

  

  Blue 
  point 
  and 
  three-ridge 
  36 
  

  

  Warty-back 
  30 
  

  

  Washboard 
  5 
  

  

  Mucket 
  4 
  

  

  Others 
  8 
  

  

  Noncommercial 
  17 
  

  

  At 
  Havana 
  there 
  were 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  camps 
  with 
  about 
  30 
  tons 
  of 
  good 
  

   shells, 
  wliich 
  were 
  taken 
  mostly 
  from 
  the 
  beds 
  below 
  the 
  city 
  where 
  

   the 
  washboards 
  predominate. 
  The 
  percentages 
  of 
  shells 
  are 
  about 
  

   as 
  follows 
  : 
  

  

  Per 
  cent. 
  

  

  Washboard 
  50 
  

  

  Bhie 
  point 
  45 
  

  

  Others 
  5 
  

  

  The 
  mixed 
  shells 
  were 
  the 
  black 
  sand 
  shells 
  (some 
  of 
  wliich 
  had 
  a 
  

   white 
  nacre, 
  others 
  being 
  deeply 
  colored), 
  yellow 
  sand 
  shells, 
  warty- 
  

   backs, 
  pig-toes, 
  buckliorns, 
  rock 
  shells, 
  higgins 
  eyes, 
  deer-toes, 
  and 
  

   pocketbooks. 
  

  

  In 
  company 
  with 
  Mr. 
  Henry 
  C. 
  Allen 
  we 
  examined 
  the 
  beds 
  in 
  the 
  

   vicinity 
  of 
  Havana 
  with 
  the 
  dip 
  net. 
  Above 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Spoon 
  

   River 
  a 
  small 
  bed 
  2 
  to 
  3 
  acres 
  in 
  extent 
  is 
  fairly 
  productive. 
  The 
  

   bottom 
  is 
  mud, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  2-mile 
  current, 
  and 
  the 
  depth 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  

   is 
  8 
  feet. 
  Several 
  hauls 
  were 
  made, 
  showing 
  75 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  blue 
  points 
  

   and 
  17 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  noncommercial 
  shells. 
  There 
  were 
  also 
  many 
  dead 
  

   shells. 
  

  

  Another 
  bed, 
  with 
  the 
  same 
  bottom 
  conditions, 
  but 
  with 
  many 
  

   more 
  dead 
  shells 
  — 
  especially 
  noticeable 
  in 
  the 
  older 
  washboards 
  — 
  and 
  

   thousands 
  of 
  live 
  snails, 
  is 
  located 
  at 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  Cooks 
  Island. 
  The 
  

   percentage 
  of 
  tliis 
  bed 
  is: 
  Blue 
  points, 
  35; 
  three- 
  ridges, 
  24; 
  warty- 
  

   backs, 
  12; 
  rock 
  shells, 
  8 
  ; 
  maple 
  leaves, 
  7; 
  slough 
  sand 
  shells, 
  7; 
  wash- 
  

   boards, 
  4; 
  and 
  others, 
  3. 
  

  

  