8 



MUSSEL FAUNA OF THE KANKAKEE BASIN. 



in constant motion by the swift current. The only trace of mussels 

 were the dead shells which had been dredged out of the old channel 

 and left high and dry along the sides of the ditch. 



Station 2. Half a mile helow {west of) Bremen. — The ditch had 

 been enlarged here to 10 feet in width, and the water was knee-deep 

 (22 inches) at the center, with a current fully 8 miles an hour. The 

 bottom was of sand OA^er firm peat, and there was some vegetation in 

 the form of scattered patches of Ceratophyllum. This served to 

 prevent in places the constant motion of sediment along the bottom 

 and gave an opportunity for mussels to establish themselves. The 

 three specimens recorded were found alive and of fair size, and 

 there were more of the dead shells in the piles of clay along the 

 banks than at the previous station. 



A number of Campeloma^ Splweriumy Planorbis^ and Pisidium 

 shells were also found, which probably represented the inhabitants 

 of a swale that had been drained by the ditch. No fish or crawfish 

 were seen. The only mussels found were two " fat muckets " {Lamp- 

 silis luteolus) and one "floater" {Anodonfa grandis). 



Station 3. Junction of north and middle forks, — This junction 

 is about 2 miles west of Bremen and a few rods north of the Balti- 

 more & Ohio Eailroad tracks. The north fork is much the larger 

 and its waters were very muddy, in strong contrast to those of the 

 middle fork. 



No life at all, animal or vegetable, except a few young pike, 

 Lucius reticulatus^ was found at this station. This was probably due 

 to the fact that the peat over a large area along both sides of the 

 forks and the main stream had been recently burned to a considerable 

 depth, changing the water, for the time being, into a sort of lye. 



Station 4- Yellow River^ 1 mile helow station 3. — The ditch here 

 is 12 to 15 feet in width, and the water is 2 to 3 feet deep at the 

 center; the bottom is gravel and clay, firm and solid, with a slower 

 current, about 6 miles an hour. The ditch has been cut through 

 about 8 feet of blackish alluvial soil, and the water, in consequence, 

 is turbid. 



There was no vegetation in the water, but we found a large num- 

 ber of mature crawfishes, Cambarus propinquus^ and a few small 

 fishes which proved to be young pike. No mussels were found alive, 

 but there was an abundance of dead shells along the sides of the 

 ditch. 



A short distance to the west of this station are two other dredged 

 ditches, running approximately parallel with the river. These are 

 known as the Bunch ditches and were dredged several years before 

 the river itself. They run into Bunch Creek, the first outlet of the 

 Lake of the "Woods, and this creek empties into Yellow River 2 miles 

 farther south. Both ditches and the creek were examined for con- 



