OCR Text |
Show Mussel Scarcer. 1 The rapid decrease in the number of mussels, once so abundant in the rivers of Indiana. s so appreciable that it is now a subject' of serious alarm. The demand for the shells of fresh water mus- , sels for the manufacture of buttons bids fair to exterminate this shell Jish in many i localities in the central west. The fresh I water mussel of the Mississippi basin is j of the genus Unio Margaritifera: There i are several hundred species of mussels, : many of which are found in Kfcrope and many In this country. Some of the genus Fnio produce flue pearls, and of these many valuable ones have been found by the pearl timbers of the Ohio and tho lower Wabash. It Is well known that pear, 1 which are a form of carbonate of lime, 1 require light and air to re twin their luster, lus-ter, and when laid away in the dark for any length of time may not only become dim but may fall into powder. Many of the pearls worn bv the Romans Ro-mans were obtained In Britain. Suetonius says pearls were a chief indvV-ment of (he expedition of Julius Caesar lo that country. They are still found in the mussels mus-sels of Scotch and Welsh rivers. It is set forth that this hi valve mollusk. which abounds In the salt waters In Kurope. is edible. In New England sea water "mussels "mus-sels are sometimes eaten, but in many cases 1 heir use as food is followed by severe sickness. From the Indianapolis News. |