52 



MUSSEL FAUNA OF THE KANKAKEE BASIN. 



mined until it is known that their excellence was hereditary rather 

 than produced by exceptionally favorable conditions. 



The dredged portion of the Yellow River, extending from Ober 

 to its mouth, and the dredged part of the Kankakee, so far as the bot- 

 tom is still unsettled, extending from its source to below the Hebron 

 Bridge, would be hardly workable, for though there is a fair number 

 of mussels, these are all in the old bed, which lies now on this, now 

 on that, side of the main navigable channel in the form of crescent- 

 shaped bayous, in many cases extending miles back from the present 

 (artificial) channel. Even in this new channel clamming operations 

 would be neither wise nor profitable until the mussel fauna becomes 

 more firmly established. The clammers at Momence worked up- 

 stream as far as they found it profitable, and were getting ready to 

 leave for more promising regions at the time of our visit. 



The most profitable region commercially is the stretch of river 

 between Momence and Wilmington, 111., and this is now (1911) being 

 exploited. A shell dealer of Muscatine (Mr. W. S. Berry) furnished 

 the information (October, 1911) that between Waldron and the 

 Kankakee Dam (5J miles by water) he had obtained nine carloads 

 of shells, and three below Kankakee, 90 per cent of which were 

 muckets, with a few razorbacks, three-ridges, and big pink pocket- 

 books. The three-ridges were of little value on account of the deep 

 furrows between the ridges. Below the Kankakee Bridge 200 tons 

 were obtained within 1,000 yards by means of the fork. 



O 



