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The Protection of Fresh-Water Mussels

p. 7: "in the Misippi River" Misippi changed to Mississippi.

The Protection of Fresh-Water Mussels

Some words were broken up due to line endings. As they only occur once in the book it's not absolutely clear if they should be hyphenated or not. This concerns the words: short-sightedness, sand-shell, head-waters.

The Protection of Fresh-Water Mussels

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF FISHERIES

_Director U. S. Biological Station Fairport, Iowa_

WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1914

_Director U. S. Biological Station, Fairport, Iowa_

Page Present conditions 3 The mussel industry 3 Depletion of the resources 4 The interests of the community 5 Artificial propagation of mussels by the Government 7 Establishment of propagation 7 Results dependent upon protection 8 Protection 9 Essential considerations for effective legislation 9 Examination of protective measures 10 Two measures for immediate application 10 Measures not suited to existing conditions 10 Size limit--necessity and application 12 Exhaustive nature of the fishery 12 Waste illustrated 13 Size limit in relation to economy 15 Reasons for the proposed 2-inch limit 16 Details essential to effective legislation 17 Closed regions--necessity and application 18 Injury to spawning mussels and to young 18 Considerations determining size of closed regions 19 Practicable division of river systems illustrated 20 Procedure for establishing closed regions 21 Enforcement of the law 22 Summary of recommended legislation 23

_Director United States Biological Station, Fairport, Iowa._

The history of the fresh-water mussel industry gives illustration of the promptness with which an American industry may be developed once the pathway is found. Undertaken in a small way scarcely more than a score of years ago, the manufacture of pearl buttons began almost immediately to assume the proportions of an important national industry. As early as 1898, when the enterprise was only 6 years old, there were about 50 factories in more than a dozen towns along the Mississippi. With improved machinery and methods further expansion occurred, until within a few years the output approximated 30 million gross of buttons, with a value of many millions of dollars. The growth of the industry has continued to the present time, but exact figures will not be available until the Bureau has completed a statistical survey now in progress.