4 MUSSELS OF CENTKAL AND NOETHEEN MINNESOTA. 



The Crow Wing River, together with its tributaries, the Fishhook, 

 Shell, Redeye, Leaf, and Long Prairie Rivers, form practically one 

 continuous bed of mussels. These vary somewhat in the different 

 localities examined, but are usually abundant and of excellent 

 quality. Two or three carloads have been shipped from the Shell 

 River at Menahga and proved to be of extra value — large and thick 

 and fine-lustered muckets, fat muckets, and pocketbooks. Two fisher- 

 men are now at work endeavoring to get another carload before cold 

 weather. One peculiarity of these mussels is that the best ones are 

 found under a mass of algse and water weeds, and sometimes buried 

 in the sand 2 feet or more, facts which offer a good suggestion for 

 investigation of other localities. Another peculiarity is the thicken- 

 ing of the shells, even the paper shells and floaters being almost thick 

 enough to cut buttons. Much of this river system is so far from 

 railroads that the shells can hardly be used profitably, especialh^ 

 because, after hauling them to the railway, the freight charge of $5 

 a ton to the nearest factory leaves very little return for the fishermen. 



In talking the matter over with some of the musselmen, however, 

 a way was suggested of obviating these difficulties. For $200, the 

 freight on a single car of shells, one could build and equip a small 

 house boat for sawing out blanks. Floating with this down the river 

 all the material could be used where it was obtained, spotted shells 

 and shells with thin tips being as available as any others so long as 

 there would be no freight to pay. For such an outfit the Crow Wing 

 River system would furnish material for many years. It could be 

 used also on the Prairie River, the Sauk River, and the upper Missis- 

 sippi. 



The Sauk River was visited at two places and found to be full of 

 shells of fine appearance— muckets and pocketbooks. These are found 

 all the way from Sauk Center to the Mississippi, a distance of 50 

 miles by the river. Upon testing, however, these shells proved to be 

 brittle and unfit for buttons. 



Clearwater Lake has some fine muckets and pocketbooks at the 

 lower end, near the outlet ; the Clearwater River, emptying out of it, 

 was not visited, but was reported to be full of similar shells of fine 

 quality and luster. 



ISOLATED LAKES. 



A large number of isolated lakes were visited, but no mussels of 

 commercial value were found in any of them. Ideal conditions for 

 the propagation of some of the most valuable mussel species exist, 

 however, in several of the lakes. Buffalo and Pleasant Lakes in 

 Wright County, Rice and Koronis Lakes in Stearns County, Osakis 



