MUSSELS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MINNESOTA. 

 Distribution of Mussels in Crow Wing Group. 



15 



Species. 



Shell 

 Hiver, 



Leaf 

 River, 

 Wadena. 



Fish- 

 Hook 



River, 

 Park 



Rapids. 



Lampsilis ligamentina (mucket) 



Lampsilis luteola (fat mucket) 



Lampsilis ventricosa (pocketbook) 



Lampsilis recta (black sand-shell) 



Anodonta pepiniana 



Anodonta grand is (floater) 



Anodontoides ferussacianus subcylindraceus. . 



Strophitus edentulus (squaw-foot) 



Strophitus edentulus pavonius (squaw-foot) . . 



As can be seen from this table, the mussels are quite evenly as well 

 as universally distributed, and it may be said that they were also 

 fairly abundant at every place examined. Hitherto the mussel 

 fishermen have worked at only one locality in this drainage, the 

 Shell River at Menahga, but the shells obtained here were so excep- 

 tional in size and quality that they brought a high price, and many 

 of them were exported to England and Germany. 



QUALITY OF SHELLS. 



The principal mussel of this drainage is the pocketbook, which 

 attains a large size and has an exceptionally thick shell. It also 

 shows a good luster, has a fine texture, and is free from stains. Con- 

 sequently it ranks as a first-grade shell and will cut 100 gross of 20- 

 line and 1,000 gross of 16-line buttons to the ton. 



The bottom of the river where these shells are obtained is covered 

 with algse and water weeds to the depth of 12 to 18 inches, and the 

 thicker the vegetation the more plentiful the mussels beneath it. 

 Two men were actively working the Shell River at Twin Lakes near 

 Menahga at the time of our visit, and we watched them rake off the 

 algae and weeds and then dig into the underlying gravel and sand for 

 the mussels. The latter are often buried to the depth of a foot or 

 more. This is, at the least, a novel condition and one which, so far as 

 is known, has not been reported from any other locality. 



The Anodontas were also very thick sheUed, so thick as to be easily 

 mistaken for fat muckets, and to cut a poor quality of buttons, 

 Quite a large percentage of the black sand-shells had white nacre, 

 and of course these made first-quality button shells. 



