26 



MUSSEL FAUNA OF THE KANKAKEE BASIN. 



a marshy lagoon on the north bank of the river with water 2 or 3 feet 

 deep and a hard bottom of sand; (2) the south bank of the river, 

 which is in the town of Thayer and where some pearlers had left 

 a pile of about 100 shells all freshly killed; and (3) the middle of the 

 river between the two places, where we used the dredge in water about 

 6 feet deep, with a hard sandy bottom and very little current. 



At the slough the mussels were scattering, but of excellent size 

 and quality. In the pearlers' pile, which were all lut^olus, we found 

 many pearls of small size in the edges of the mantles. From the 

 deep water of the midriver were obtained coccinea (in deep water 

 only), undulata^ and pustulosa. Shells are said to be easily obtained 

 in large numbers here at low water. Many of the ventricosus were 

 nearly gravid, and the luteolus were all infested with Atax and 

 Cotylaspis parasites, though the other species were free. 



During our stay in Water Valley we stopped with Mr. John 

 Phelps, a fisherman who is thoroughly acquainted with the Kanka- 

 kee River, and who gave us much valuable information in reference 

 to the mussels as well as the fishes. Through his courtesy we had 

 an opportunity to examine many of the fish caught in the river. 



The redeye, AmblopUtes rupe^tris, yielded a few specimens of 

 Ergasilus centrar chid arum attached to the gill filaments. Another 

 specimen had mussel glochidia on its gills, while a third one was 

 covered with bloody spots over the outside surface of the body, most 

 common near the anal fin. Attached to one of these spots was a 

 Lernceocera cruciata^ which Mr. Phelps told us were quite abundant 

 on this fish in the early spring. These redeyes, together with the 

 large and small mouthed black bass and the sunfish, all of which 

 are plentiful in this portion of the Kankakee, have proved to be 

 the most satisfactory species for carrying glochidia (Bulletin of the 

 Bureau of Fisheries, vol. xxviii, p. 624.) Their presence, therefore, 

 insures one of the most important conditions for the success of arti- 

 ficial mussel propagation. 



Station G. Cedar Lahe^ Lake County. — This must have been a 

 favorite name with the early settlers, judging from the fact that 

 there are at least six " Cedar " lakes in the State of Indiana. This 

 particular one is in the center of Lake County and covers 1.17 

 square miles, being a little over 2 miles in greatest length and about 

 three-quarters of a mile in greatest breadth. It is shaped like a 

 kidney or bean, and owes its origin to irregularities in the deposition 

 of the drift material. It is surrounded on all sides except the south 

 by heavily wooded ridges, which formerly were its shores. It is 

 another case of artificial drainage, like the Lake of the Woods. 



In order to reclaim 200 acres of comparatively worthless marsh 

 land at the southern end of the lake, a ditch was cut on its eastern 

 side which lowered the level of the lake 10 or 12 feet. This artificial 



