70 THE NAUTILUS. 



mens have been taken in Southwestern Texas. A few years ago 

 Dr. Edgar A. Mearns collected it abundantly near Ft. Clark, South- 

 western Texas, and obtained a number of living specimens, which 

 he sent to me. Some of these were gravid and showed it to be a 

 true Unio." 



A NEW VARIETY OF GLYPTOSTOMA NEWBERRYANUM. 



BY F. AV. BRYANT. 



G. neivherryanutn var. depressum. 



This variety differs from typical Glyptostoma newherryanum (W. 

 G. Binney) in being very much depressed, the altitude of shells with 

 an equal number of whorls being less than two-thirds that of Binney's 

 species. The diameter is correspondingly reduced. The aperture 

 is also less round than in G. newherryanum. A specimen measures, 

 alt. 11, diam. 27 mm. 



Dead shells of this variety are found in abundance on the bluffs 

 north of Ensenada, Lower California. 



It has also been collected by Mr. Henry Hemphill near Wilming- 

 ton, Los Angeles Co., California. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF PEARL BUTTONS FROM FRESH-WATER 



MUSSELS. 



Li the manufacture of pearl buttons the centre of activity has 

 shifted from the China Sea to the river towns of the Mississippi. 

 Altogether unknown in this region a dozen years ago, this industry 

 has grown to such proportions that it now employs the services 

 of thousands of people, and the output has become so great that it 

 materially affects the button market of the world. 



About twelve years ago a German buttonmaker named Boeple 

 wandered into Muscatine from the old country. He saw for the 

 first time the mussel shells of the Mississippi river. He examined 

 them closely and expressed the opinion that they were good material 

 for buttons. Up to this time fresh-water shells were considered 

 unsuitable for any such use, and authorities on the subject were 

 naturally skeptical in regard to Boeple's opinion of their usefulness. 

 He persisted in claiming that the " niggerhead " mussel from the 

 waters of the Mississippi river would make, if properly handled and 

 finished, the finest pearl buttons yet produced. He took some 



