66 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



20,354,000 pounds of shells and Wisconsin 16,260,000 

 pounds. In 1908 these two states produced, respec- 

 tively, 4,699,000 and 1,150,000 pounds. In 1894 the 

 industry was barely started, and the total product 

 was only 196,000 pounds, valued at $2,700. Of this, 

 Iowa supplied 148,000 pounds and Illinois the balance. 



Pearling has uniformly preceded traffic in shells. 

 In hunting for pearls the fishers wade in the shallow 

 waters, feeling for the mussels with their feet or 

 looking for them through a water telescope, and 

 gather them by hand when found. In deeper water, 

 garden rakes, to which are attached small bag nets, 

 are used from small boats. Tongs are also an imple- 

 ment of common use. As the quantity of pearls 

 taken becomes less and the excitement of hunting for 

 them consequently subsides, the fishermen begin to 

 look to the shells for their main remuneration. They 

 then adopt more systematic methods, making use of 

 the crowfoot dredge. This implement consists of an 

 iron bar to which iron hooks with from two to four 

 prongs are attached at intervals. As the bar is 

 dragged downstream, the mussels, which lie with their 

 valves open upstream, close tightly upon the prongs 

 as soon as touched. Most of the boats are fitted with 

 motors to propel them upstream, while to make the 

 best use of the current downstream a device called a 

 mule is attached. The latter consists of a square of 

 canvas stretched on a frame and let into the water 

 from the prow of the boat, so that it presents a broad 

 surface for the current to act upon. 



The decrease in the quantity of the mussel shells 

 taken in the Iowa and. Wisconsin fisheries means that 

 the pearl industry in those states is in danger. Manu- 

 facturers have been interested in schemes for providing 

 a future supply, either by protective legislation, which 

 shall promote natural increase, or by an attempt at 

 private culture. The latter plan, however, has not 

 been more than considered. The especially discour- 

 aging feature is that at least 10 years are required to 

 grow most of the varieties to commercial size, during 

 which period the mollusk is beset with many dangers, 

 both from the fish which prey on it and from the physi- 

 ographical conditions which surround it. The only 

 experiments in private culture have been in the growth 

 of pearls within the mussel, not of the mussel itself. 

 These attempts have not yet passed beyond the experi- 

 mental stage. The enactment of protective legislation 

 also presents its problems. Because of the different size 

 of various species at maturity no uniform restriction 

 as to minimum size can be prescribed, and if a specific 

 size for each variety were established it would be 

 impossible, owing to the close resemblance between 

 nearly all of the different species, for any but biolo- 

 gists to do the gathering. Furthermore, as the spawn- 

 ing time is very irregular and uncertain, the proper 

 period for a closed season is difficult to determine. 

 The state of Illinois, however, has enacted legislation 



establishing a closed season from October 1 to April 1 

 and has set limits to the capacity of apparatus used. 



The importance of mussel shells dates from 1891, 

 when a German opened a button factory at Muscatine, 

 Iowa, modeled after those in Germany. His atten- 

 tion had been directed to this country by tariff regu- 

 lations and attracted to this section of the United 

 States by the abundance of shells left after the opera- 

 tions of pearl fishers. Previous to this an attempt to 

 establish such a factory had been made in Tennessee, 

 but had failed. The rapidity of the development of 

 this industry is shown by the fact that at the close 

 of 1897, 13 factories had been opened, while during the 

 first six months of 1898, 36 others were established in 

 Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. 



Pearl fishing was followed throughout the Missis- 

 sippi Valley by the Indians and by the early settlers 

 in a small way, but the first excitement in recent years 

 was in 1878 in Ohio. Since that time at regular inter- 

 vals "crazes" have developed in one section or an- 

 other. Among these " crazes" may be mentioned that 

 in Wisconsin beginning in 1889 and later extending 

 down the river, that in Arkansas in 1895, that on the 

 Clinch River in Tennessee in 1901, that on the Wabash 

 in 1903, and that on the Illinois Eiver in 1906. At the 

 height of the excitement in Arkansas it is estimated 

 that 10,000 persons were engaged in pearl fishing. The 

 shells of the mussels were a waste product until the 

 opening of the button factories. Now the shells are 

 the important product of the industry, while pearls 

 furnish the speculative element. 



Oyster (Ostrea virginica). — Oysters ranked first in 

 value among all fishery products of the United States 

 in 1908, with a total product of 33,330,000 bushels, 

 valued at $15,713,000, or 29 per cent of the value of 

 all fishery products. Of the total oyster product, 

 market oysters represented 77 per cent in quantity 

 and 8 1 per cent in value. Although oysters from pri- 

 vate beds formed but 44 per cent of the total quantity, 

 yet culture enhances the value to such an extent that 

 their total value was greater than that of the product 

 from public areas. In the case of private areas the 

 ownership often lies in the state. In some states, how- 

 ever, it is considered a part of the riparian property of 

 the landowners, and in others — Connecticut and New 

 York, for example — oyster grounds have been sold out- 

 right and the state has no further claim thereon. 



The statistics for 1908 of market and seed oysters 

 from public and private areas are given in the next 

 tabular statement. 



The oyster industry was reported for every state on 

 both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, with the excep- 

 tion of New Hampshire. The greatest production 

 was from the beds of Long Island Sound and Chesa- 

 peake Bay. While Connecticut ranked first in the 

 value of this product, there was little difference in the 

 value of the output of the states of Connecticut, New 

 York, Virginia, and Maryland, each of which yielded 



