36 



MUSSEL FAUNA OF THE KANKAKEE BASIN. 



of at least 100 miles from Kiverside to the State line, furnish an 

 ideal breeding ground for the artificial propagation of mussels on a 

 large scale. The swamp reservoirs keep the supply of water uniform, 

 there is just the requisite amount of current, a suitable variety of 

 hard bottom, plenty of lime and natural food in the water, and the 

 region is well protected by its environment from outside molestation 

 and disturbance. For this, as well as many other reasons, it well 

 deserves to be protected from future dredging syndicates. 



11. Dredging entirely annihilates the mussel fauna of such a basin 

 throughout the portions operated upon, no matter how prolific and 

 varied that fauna may have been previously. And it establishes 

 artificial conditions, every one of which is antagonistic to any re- 

 establishing of the fauna. The most fatal condition is the constant 

 movement of the fine sand and silt along the bottom of the dredged 

 channels. Until that has ceased there can be no chance for mussels 

 to live. 



Portions of the basin which were dredged 15 or 20 years ago show 

 no signs of restocking with mussels, though there are thousands of 

 them close at hand in the old channels. 



12. The mussel fauna of the lakes is almost entirely composed of 

 Anodonta and Z. luteolns. With the exception of those found in the 

 Fish Lakes all the lacustrine mussels were practically worthless from 

 a commercial standpoint. The shells were either too thin and brittle 

 or they were dwarfed below a workable size. The excellent quality 

 of those found in the Fish Lakes, however, suggests strongly that 

 under favorable conditions lake mussels may become as valuable as 

 those from a river. The presence in the lake of such a flourishing 

 colony of Q. undulata shows that some, at least, of the thick-shelled 

 species can thrive in a lake, a fact experimentally proved for other 

 species by the authors. AVhy not stock some of the lakes, then, along 

 with the rivers, selecting those species best suited for such conditions? 



Station II. Tipj^ecanoe Lahe^ Kosciusko County^ Ind. — This lake 

 does not properly belong to the Kankakee Basin, but drains into 

 the Tippecanoe River and thence into the Wabash. For this reason 

 it has been placed here at the end of the list after the finishing of 

 the Kankakee Basin. The lake lies a little north of the center of the 

 eastern boundary of the county and covers 1.6 square miles, being 

 the fifth largest lake in the State. It is divided into three basins — 

 the eastern, known as James Lake; the central; and the w^estern, 

 called Oswego Lake. Tippecanoe River enters the eastern end of 

 James Basin and flows through the entire length of the lake, main- 

 taining a good current throughout the year. Grassy Creek, the 

 outlet of a chain of four small lakes (Maybe, Sawmill, and the two 

 Barbees) to the south, enters the middle basin near its southwest 

 corner. 



