﻿THE 
  MUSSEL 
  FISHERY 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOX 
  RIVER, 
  

  

  By 
  John 
  A. 
  Eldridge. 
  

  

  The 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  embraced 
  by 
  the 
  inquiry 
  and 
  dealt 
  with 
  

   in 
  this 
  report 
  is 
  that 
  between 
  Pistakee 
  Bay, 
  just 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Wis- 
  

   consin 
  State 
  Hne, 
  and 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  at 
  Ottawa, 
  IlL, 
  a 
  dis- 
  

   tance 
  of 
  about 
  90 
  miles. 
  The 
  conditions 
  of 
  the 
  stream 
  were 
  ascer- 
  

   tained 
  in 
  part 
  from 
  observation 
  and 
  experiment, 
  in 
  part 
  from 
  ques- 
  

   tioning 
  shellers, 
  buyers, 
  and 
  manufacturers. 
  The 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  

   inquiry 
  proved 
  unfortunate, 
  as 
  cold 
  weather 
  had 
  stopped 
  much 
  of 
  

   the 
  work 
  carried 
  on 
  during 
  the 
  summer. 
  The 
  brief 
  time 
  devoted 
  

   to 
  the 
  inquiry 
  prohibited 
  as 
  thorough 
  an 
  examination 
  as 
  was 
  desired. 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  CHARACTERISTICS 
  OF 
  FOX 
  RIVER. 
  

  

  This 
  river, 
  which 
  is 
  about 
  150 
  miles 
  in 
  length, 
  rises 
  in 
  Waukesha 
  

   County, 
  Wis., 
  a 
  little 
  northwest 
  of 
  Milwaukee. 
  It 
  flows 
  south 
  and 
  

   southwest 
  and 
  enters 
  the 
  Illinois 
  River 
  at 
  Ottawa. 
  (See 
  map, 
  

   plate 
  VI, 
  preceding 
  paper.) 
  

  

  As 
  described 
  by 
  Forbes 
  and 
  Richardson 
  in 
  their 
  pamphlet 
  on 
  the 
  

   fishes 
  of 
  Illinois,'* 
  the 
  drainage 
  basin 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  is 
  an 
  undulating 
  

   prairie 
  region 
  with 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  woodland 
  and 
  some 
  swamps. 
  For 
  a 
  

   distance 
  of 
  nearly 
  75 
  miles 
  from 
  its 
  source 
  the 
  fall 
  amounts 
  to 
  only 
  

   a 
  few 
  inches 
  to 
  the 
  mile. 
  In 
  its 
  passage 
  through 
  Kane 
  and 
  Kendall 
  

   Counties 
  the 
  fall 
  per 
  mile 
  is 
  about 
  3 
  feet, 
  but 
  in 
  La 
  Salle 
  County 
  it 
  

   increases 
  to 
  about 
  5 
  feet 
  per 
  mile, 
  making 
  a 
  descent 
  of 
  nearly 
  125 
  

   feet 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  25 
  miles 
  of 
  its 
  course. 
  Its 
  channel 
  even 
  in 
  its 
  

   lower 
  75 
  miles 
  has 
  a 
  breadth 
  of 
  only 
  one-eighth 
  of 
  a 
  mile. 
  

  

  Above 
  Algonquin 
  the 
  river 
  valley 
  forms 
  one 
  of 
  Chicago's 
  foremost 
  

   summer 
  resorts; 
  throughout 
  this 
  whole 
  region 
  its 
  banks 
  are 
  lined 
  

   with 
  summer 
  cottages. 
  Its 
  lower 
  course 
  is 
  through 
  fertile 
  farming 
  

   country, 
  and 
  several 
  flourishing 
  manufacturing 
  cities 
  lie 
  on 
  its 
  banks. 
  

   Many 
  power 
  dams 
  have 
  been 
  constructed, 
  wliich, 
  with 
  their 
  influence 
  

   on 
  the 
  depth, 
  current, 
  and 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  bottom, 
  strongly 
  affect 
  

   the 
  Mollusca 
  above 
  them. 
  In 
  most 
  places 
  the 
  water 
  is 
  clear 
  and 
  

   apparently 
  pure, 
  but 
  of 
  late 
  years 
  the 
  refuse 
  of 
  such 
  places 
  as 
  Aurora 
  

  

  a 
  Forbes, 
  S. 
  A. 
  , 
  and 
  Richardson, 
  R. 
  E.: 
  The 
  fishes 
  of 
  Illinois. 
  Natural 
  History 
  Survey 
  of 
  Illinois, 
  vol. 
  

   m, 
  p. 
  XLiv-v, 
  1908. 
  

  

  22889°— 
  14— 
  34 
  ^ 
  

  

  