MUSSELS OP CENTEAL AND NORTHERN MINNESOTA. 



25 



There were found here the fat mucket (luteola), Anodonta pepiniana 

 and Anodontoides. Some of the muckets were dwarfed and thin- 

 shelled, but a small percentage were full-size and had moderately 

 thick shells. 



Battle Lake is in the southern central portion of Ottertail County 

 and empties into the Red River. It is 6 miles long by 3 miles wide. 

 It has a bottom of sand and gravel sparsely covered with aquatic 

 vegetation, and the water is very clear and cold. The fat muckets 

 here were small and dwarfed and approached very closely the species 

 known as rosacea. They were easily eroded, and the epidermis on 

 exposed portions of the shell became absolutely snow-white. 



In addition there were two species of Anodonta, viz, pepiniana and 

 Icennicotti, and Anodontoides. All of these shells, including the 

 muckets, were worthless from a commercial standpoint. 



Neither Battle Lake nor Lake Osakis has a fish hatchery, but other- 

 wise they possess as favorable conditions as those at Lake Minne- 

 waska, and are as conveniently situated. Consequently, if the experi- 

 ments at Lake Minnewaska proved successful, it would be an easy 

 matter to repeat them in these two lakes. 



SUMMARY. 



1. Fat muckets (Lampsilis luteola) with exceptionally thick shells, 

 and making first-grade button material, are plentiful in Pokegama and 

 Cross Lakes, and in the Snake River, and also in Lake Pepin. They 

 are not found in any of the other lakes or rivers which were examined. 



2. Pocketbooks (L. ventricosa) of unusual size and luster are 

 abundant in the SheU River and Twin Lakes near Menahga and else- 

 where throughout the Crow Wing drainage and in the Sauk River. 

 The Crow Wing shells are of superior quality and command a high 

 price. Those from the Sauk River are so brittle as to render them 

 worthless. 



3. Muckets (L. ligamentina) are common in the Crow Wing and 

 its tributaries and in the upper Mississippi. They are the ordinary 

 good button material that is common in this species. 



4. Black sand-shells (L. recta) are fairly abundant in all the rivers 

 visited. Nearly all have purple nacre, are very thick, and make 

 excellent material for novelties. The only exceptions are the white- 

 nacred ones found at Menahga, which are excellent button sheUs. 



5. Pig-toes {Quadrula) are found only in the St. Croix drainage and 

 in the Red River. There are none in the Mississippi above the Falls 

 of St. Anthony, nor in any of the other rivers and lakes visited. Some 

 of the three-ridges were badly spotted, but all of the other pig-toes 

 were of first quality and would make good button material. 



6. Bemidji, in Beltrami County, is the best center from which to 

 work the upper Mississippi. A blank factory situated there could 



