72 THE NAUTILUS, 



promptly filling all orders sent them. The men sell the mussels to 

 the button factory operators at so much per 100 pounds. The wages 

 they make depend upon their diligence and the luck they meet with in 

 getting in a thick bed, but range from ll.fjO to $5 per day. There 

 is one big mussel bed near Canton, Mo., about eight miles in length. 



The process of making the shells into buttons is interesting. 

 The shells are first cut up into blanks the exact size the buttons are 

 to be; then they go to the grinder, a machine which grinds the black 

 back off of them ; after that to the facing machine, which cuts the 

 face on them; next to the backer, which bevels the back; then the 

 drill, which puts in the eye-holes ; from here they go to the polish- 

 ing room, where the glossy finish is put upon them ; after that they 

 are sorted, put on cards and boxed up. 



There are about 40 factories in Muscatine, and the amount paid 

 out weekly in wages is $10,000. There are factories in Davenport, 

 F'ort Madison, Burlington, Quincy, LaGrange, Canton and many 

 other points. 



There is an added interest in the business of mussel fishing on 

 account of the likelihood of finding pearls. It is not an uncommon 

 thing for a fisherman to find a pearl valued at $100, and one lucky 

 fellow found a beauty which sold for $5,000. Every follower of the 

 business has a little bottle filled with specimens, which eventually 

 find their way to the market. — Phila. Record. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Cantharidus peronii Phil. In this journal for May, 1901 

 (xv, p. 8), I noted that it was Perry who first gave a name to this 

 species, Bulimus carinatus. I find that this name cannot stand on 

 account of the earlier Bulimus carinatus of Bruguiere, and the name 

 given by Philippi will be retained. In the same note, the second i 

 was omitted from the name Bulimus eximius Perry, by typographical 

 error H. A. Pilsbry. 



Angitreiwa verrucosa at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. — I am 

 able to list an entire new shell to this locality, Angitrema verrucosa 

 Raf. This shell had so far never been found in the upper Ohio, 

 the mouth of the Wabash, 275 miles below this point, being its 

 locality according to Say. I was fortunate enough to obtain 60 

 specimens of this shell, and send you a set for the collection. — A. C. 

 Billups. 



