S H Book Jl5 ^5 no'? (C:f 60th Ck)NGREss, ) HOUSE Oi^' llEPRKSENTATIVES. J Report 1st Sessio7i. ) I No. 1055. TO ESTABLISH A BIOLOGICAL STATION IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY IN THE STATE OF IOWA. February 22, 1908. — Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. Wilson, of Illinois, from the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following" REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 13659.] The Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 13659) to establish a biological and fish- cultural station in the Second Congressional district of the State of Iowa, having considered the same, respectfully report with the recom- mendation that it do pass with the following amendments, to wit: Amend the, title of the bill so as to read: "A l)ill to establish a biological station in the Upper Mississippi River Vallej' in the State of Iowa." Strike out all after the enacting- clause and in lieu thereof insert the following: That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor is hereby authorized and directed to establish and equip a biological station for the propagation of fresh-water mussels in the Upper Mississippi River Valley in the State of Iowa, at some suitable point in said State to be selected by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor: the cost of estab- lishing the same, including purchase of site, construction of buildings and ponds, and equipinent, not to exceed the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars: ' The purpose of this bill is to make possible the perpetuation of the supply of'raw material for the growing American industr}' of manu- facturing pearl buttons from the shells of fresh-water mussels and the industries collateral to it. B}^ reason of the g-rowth and development of this industry the supply of mussel shells is threatened with exhaus- tion. By establishing the station proposed in this bill it is believed that the question of artificial propagation will be completely solved, and that the supply of these shells will be perpetuated by propagation which can henceforth be carried on without material additional expense to the Government. In the last session of Congress an additional appropriation of money for scientific investisation under the United States Fish Commission 2 BIOLOGICAL STATION, UPPER MISSISSIPPI KIVEK VALLEY, IOWA. was granted for the purpose of making an investigation of the fresh- water mussels of the United States in their relation to the pearl-button industry. This investigation was ordered by the Secretary of Com- merce and Labor on a showing made to him that this American indus- try of manufacturing pearl buttons from the shells of fresh-water mussels had grown to considerable proportions during the past few 3^ears, and that the rapidity with which these shells were being taken from the streams of the United States threatened the extinction of these mussels, thereby cutting off the source of the raw material for this industry and the consequent doom of the industr3\ It was found that comparatively little knowledge had been obtained by scientists and investigators^ regarding the life histor}^ of our fresh-water mussels, and so a commission was created under the supervision of Prof. Paul Bartsch, an eminent biological authoi'ity. This commission made an examination of many of the principal streams of the country where the fresh-water mussels abound, and secured nuich valuable information on the subject. The work of this commission has been carried forward by Professors Lefevre and Curtis, of the University of Missouri, who, by the way, have been conducting these investigations without com- pensation. They have determined the mode of development of fresh- water mussels, and it has been found to differ from what occurs in any of their marine relatives. This difference lies in the fact that the embryo lives for a time as a parasite upon fresh-water lishes and can only develop in this parasitic condition. VVith this fact established, careful experiments have been made in inoculating ffshes with these embryo clams. These experiments have been conducted by Professors Lefevre and Curtis, and the results thereof indicate that the infection of ffshes on a large scale is entirely possible, and that there is ample reason to believe in the success of such work in building up the suppl}^ of mussels. It is clearly pointed out that the steady decline of the beds demands some such remedial measures if the supply is to be maintained for more than a ver}^ few years. There are still many fundamental scien- tific facts relating to the subject which are yet to be determined. For example, we do not know the exact breeding seasons of any one of the button mussels. We do not know what fish are best adapted to carry- ing the glochidia of each species, nor what are the best methods for work on a large scale. These facts can be ascertained if proper facili- ties for work are provided, and they must be ascertained before the process of artificial propagation can be established on a sound basis; but since many of them can only be learned by the actual experience of attempting artificial propagation on a large scale the investigation and the propagation must go hand in hand. To carry on such work properly, there is necessary a station, properly equipped, for the whole- sale collecting and transporting of fish and mussels to the tanks and ponds of the station, where the infections are to be performed. In this way there could be liberated hundreds of thousands of fishes loaded with these embryo clams, and thus sow these clams broadcast in our rivers. It may be added that this process of propagation is in no way harmful to the fish. The establishment of such a station as is provided for in this bill is recommended by the United States (Commissioner of Fisheries. The following statement of the principal facts in the life history of our fresh-water mussels and the means proposed for increasing the D. or a .S BIOLOGICAL STATION, UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY, IOWA. 3 supply was written by Professors Lefevre and Curtis, who have been c: ' and are now conducting experiments under the direction of the United ^-^^ States Fish Commission. This statement is made a part of the report €^ and will be found most interesting. The fresh-water clams or mnssels of the United States and similar forms from other parts of the world exhibit a mode of development which differs from what occurs in any of their marine relatives. This difference lies in the fact that the embryo lives for a time as a parasite upon the gills or fins of fresh-water fishes and can only develop in this parasitic condition, the life history being, briefly, as tolloxvs: The ego-sof the female clam are fertilized by the sperm of the male, which enters the body of the female in the water current that brings the clam its food. These eggs begin development within the female, where they are contained in sacks formed by the animal's gill. Development proceeds as far as a stage known as the glochidium (PI ia) which has the two halves of a miniature shell and looks much like a gapmg clam shell, l)ut which has none of the internal organs necessary for the life which the adult clam leads in the mud of the bottom. . ■,^ ^ ^.u The glochidia are shed out of the parent as they become ripe and they tall to the bottom where, having no power of locomotion, they remain motionless unless washed about by the currents. Experiments prove that they will die before many days when left in this condition. If, however, the glochidium chances to come in contact with the fins or gills of a fish, which brushes against the silt of the bottom, it fastens itself, and within twenty-four hours has caused the skin of the fish to grow over it, so that the young mussel is completelv imbedded within the living tissue of the fish. In this condition it rests securely, receiving its food from the blood of its host, and leadincr a truly parasitic existence, for some months. During this period the glo- chidium changes until all the organs of the adult are developed, though it has not increased in size. At the end of its parasitic existence, when the organs are fully formed the young clam effects the tissue of the fish in such a way that the skin opens and the young clam drops to the bottom, where it begins the life which it will lead throughout the remainder of its existence. , i ^ i The attachment to a fish is entirelv a matter of chance, but where mussels and fish are abundant it must often occur under natural conditions, as is seen from the exami- nation of fish taken in nature. Still the fishes thus infected will almost never be found carrving as many of the parasites as they can without serious injury. 11 the fish are taken and placed in a tub or bucket of water containing large numbers ot glochidia which have been obtained from removing them from the ripe mussel, it is possible to cause the attachment of hundreds of the parasites for every one that would be found there by the chance of nature. A fish under 6 inches m lengtii may thus be made to carry several hundred glochidia, and thus a thousand fish artificially infected may do the work of several hundred thousand in a state of nature. Exr.eriments with small numbers of fish under observation in the laboratory indicate that their infection on a large scale is entirely possible, and the experiment now in progress at La Crosse, in which over 25,000 young fish have thus been infected, gives every^indication that such work may be begun even with the scanty knowledge we now possess. i i i • While there is ample reason to believe in the eventual success ot sucli worR in keeping up the supply of mussels, and while the steady decline of the beds demands some such remedial measures, if the supply is to be maintained for more than a very few years, we are not yet in a position to proceed safely with this work, because we are still "io'iiorant of many fundamental scientific facts. For example, we do not know the exact^breeding seasons of any one of the button mussels. We do not know w-hat fish are best adapted to carrying the glochidia of each species, nor what are the best methods for work on a large scale. These facts can be ascertained if proper facilities for work are provided, and they must be ascertained before the process ot artificial propagation can be established on a sound basis. But since many of them can only be learned by the actual experience of attempting artificial propagation on a large scale, the investigation and propagation must go hand in hand. To carry on such work properly, there is necessary a station properly equipped with boats and a steamer for the wholesale collecting and transporting of fish and mussels alive to the tanks and ponds of the station where the infection could be performed. Nature is prodigal with the supply of glochidia, but so great is the chance against any ever fastening themselves upon the fish and against any ever dropping from the fish to a place on the bottom where they can succeed in the struggle for lite that, with the added destruction of hundreds of millions of shells each year tor commercial purposes we may easily exterminate before many years the forms upon which the button industry depends. If we can discover the places in the life history where the 4 BIOLOGICAL STATION, UPPEK MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY, IOWA. waste is greatest and aid the species at those critical stages, there is every reason to hope that the supply of mussels can be made to equal if not surpass the numbers existing when the first button was cut. Legislation against fishing must also be made use of as soon as we know enough of the habits and breeding seasons to propose measures that are likely to be a real pro- tection. Until then all such laws should be discouraged, however strong maybe the wishes of the manufacturers or others to preserve any local supply. We are as likely to do harm as good in the making of such laws without adequate knowledge, and the revision of bad laws would probably be more difficult than the passage of new ones. In conclusion, we may say that the parasitism on the fish makes the propagation of mussels go han s Wages. products. United States 1905 1900 1905 1900 1905 1905 1900 1900 1905 1900 1905 1900 1905 1900 1905 1900 1905 1900 1905 1900 n905 51900 150 122 S3, 234, 379 1,109,572 385 117 «276, 491 85, 646 5, 085 3,574 11,621,669 1,147,2.52 1319, 593 89,414 11,911,187 940, 838 1 S4, 926, 458 2,766,053 Illinois . 13 10 3 51 50 3 8 8 11 11 27 15 3 3 8 6 17 9 9 7 148, 313 37, 643 67, 901 1, 173, 866 314, 685 270, 597 126, 968 26, 995 273, 215 77, 550 904, 447 155, 834 59,008 48, 120 303, 830 110, 299 113,340 34, 499 63, 491 33, 350 16 11 4 116 38 10 16 1 22 9 163 28 5 6 25 4 11 4 7 6 8,530 6,172 3,460 74, 685 24,756 19, 200 5,671 300 29,584 9,500 122, 300 16,613 2,539 4,086 19,826 2,424 5,420 1,425 4,476 1,170 259 237 139 1,936 1,335 388 180 64 330 193 1,4«1 906 66 66 397 223 187 96 130 66 96,486 85, 071 39,4.59 653, 520 438, 168 141,200 55, 314 17, 821 140,311 75,679 406,837 254, 027 16, 224 17, 138 117, 568 73, 247 58, 700 32,108 38, 250 12, 793 14,280 2,616 4,035 92,530 36, 853 12, 783 7,588 962 36, 491 4, 323 96, 952 19, 355 4,002 5, 487 47, 020 3, 875 10, ,510 1,830 6,185 1,330 .54, 353 42, 332 14, 042 533, 917 185, 257 72, 188 34,135 12, 525 199, 114 129,569 818, 679 366, 040 23, 796 19,962 135, 019 87,697 58,064 18,7.51 40, 068 6,517 209, 500 Indiana^ 181,704 69,068 1,500,945 Massachusetts 3. Missouri New Jersey New York Ohio 822, 478 304, 400 136,994 34,529 480,765 310, 954 1,844,432 771,482 50, 216 Pennsylvania . . Wisconsin All other States 56, 008 333, 732 193, 823 164, 229 63, 125 136,577 27,550 1 Includes 1.556,217 worth of ocean pearl buttons. 2 No establishments reported in 1900. ^Included in "all other States" in 1905. 4 Includes establishments di-stributed as follows: Arkansas, 3; Massachusetts, 2; Minnesota, 1; Mis- sissippi, 1; Nebraska, 1; Tennessee, 1. ^Includes establishments distributed as follows: Arkansas, 1; California, 2; Minnesota, 2; Ne- braska, 2. BIOLOGICAL STATION, UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY, IOWA. 5 An unofficial statement of the fresh-water pearl button industry for the year 1906 is also submitted herewith. This report furnishes additional information regarding the industry and is as follows: Fresli-water pearl button industry report, 1906. BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT. Amount of money invested in plant, machinery, etc- $1, 488, 200 Amount of business done during year 1906 5, 650, 000 Number of gross manufactured during year 1906 25, 200, 000 Average price of button, 21f cents per gross 5, 481, 000 Amount of crushed shell waste material used for chicken feed, 30,726 tons, at $5.50 per ton 169, 000 Expended for paper boxes, cards, silver foil, etc 335, 000 Amount of money paid in wages 3, 450, 000 Amount of money paid for shells 737, 280 HELP AND WAGES. 3, 000 cutters (male), $14 average wages per week ? $42, 000 1, 800 operators ( female) , $8 average wages per week 14, 200 600 employed as foreman, $18 average wages per week 10, 800 Manager, salesman, buyers, office force. 1, 000 employed at home sewing buttons (female) 3,000 6, 400 Total wages per week 69, 000 50 weeks wages per year 3, 450, 000 SHELLS, Amount of shells, district, etc. Wabash River Ohio River Arkansas River. . . Mississippi River . other rivers Amount. Tons. 14, 400 13,440 9,120 8,640 2, 400 48,000 tons shell, average price 115.35 . 48, 000 Average price. $15. 00 15.00 15.00 17.00 15.00 Total cost. S216, 000 201,600 136, 800 146, 880 36, 000 737, 280 737, 280 Estimated 3,000 clammers working five months in the year, average amount received by each man for year's work, besides amount received for pearls, etc., for year $204.50 Freight paid for shells for year 120, 000. 00 These tables do not indicate the full size of this comparatively new and growing industry. There are collateral industries which have grown up as a result of the manufacture of pearl buttons in the United States from fresh water mussels. The sale of pearls and baroques which are found in these fresh water mussels has grown to large proportions, and a conservative estimate would place the value of these pearls at $1,000,000 per annum. Another industry which has grown up as a result of the manufacture of buttons from these shells is the manufacture of buckles and other articles of adornment, including stick pins, brooches, and other articles of jewelry. No data is at hand as to the magnitude of this particular industry, but it has already attained considerable proportions. 6 BIOLOGICAL STATION, UPPEE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY, IOWA. In addition the manufacture of button-making' machinery has grown to considerable proportions, and the progress in the manu- facture of buttons is marked by a corresponding progress in the manufacture of labor-saving machines, some of which rival the modern type-setting machines in their intricacy and perfection of action. In the light of these facts the committee recommends the passage of the bill. o 60th Congress, } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Kept. 1176, M Session. \ . ( Part 2. TO ESTABLISH A BIOLOGICAL AND FISH-CULTURAL STATION IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. March 13, 1908.— Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. Spight, from the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fish- eries, submitted the following as the VIEWS OF THE MINORITY. [To acfompany H. R. 13659.] The bill as reported b}' the committee ought not to pass. This bill is in the interest of the manufacturers of pearl buttons, already, under general law, ampl}^ protected b}' a taritf dut}'. This proposition goes far beyond the doctrine of protection. It seeks to have the Government appropriate money from the Treasury to advance the interests of a private enterprise operated for profit. It is altogether different from the tish hatcheries established by the Gov- ernment for the breeding of young tishes of approved varieties and their distribution to the water courses, lakes, and ponds all over the country for increasing the food supply of all the people. The mussel is not edible, and its only value is its shell, which is of use solely to the button factories. The effect of this bill, if passed, will be to fur- nish raw material to these factories. As evidence that such is the purpose, an effort was made to amend the bill so as to limit its opera- tion to a scientific investigation as to the best method for the propa- gation of the fresh -water nuissel. This was promptly voted down b\^ the friends of the measure. If we inaugurate the policy of appropriating public money for pri- vate enterprises, where shall the line be drawn ? It is said that the manuf actiu-e of pearl buttons, ornaments, etc. , is a yoimg and grow- ing industry in the United States, and that it gives emplo} nient to many wage-earners. Grant that this is so. It is equally true that it is a profitable business to those engaged in it or the}" would seek other avenues of investment. They are not in the business from any motiv^es of patriotism or for the public good, but solely for private gain. The laborers are given work to do not because of S3^mpathy for the unem- ployed, but because their services are profitable to their employers. 2 BIOLOGICAL AND FISB-CULTURAL STATION. Then why should the public Treasury be made to. contribute to their already profitable business ? , j , • While the bill as originally presented has been so amended by its friends as to read, "A biological and fish-cultural station." the expres- sion is, perhaps unconsciously, misleading, because there is no dis- guising the fact that it is intended to apply alone to mussels. In the interest of the popularity of the measure it has been so amended as to apparently eliminate the restriction that the proposed plant shall be established in the Second Congressional district of Iowa, by substituting the words "In the Upper Mississippi River Valley." It may be, however, that there is no one so disingenuous as to suppose that the passage of the bill would mean anything else than that the station will be located in the Second district of Iowa, which is the only locality asking for it. • j • • We think the proposed legislation is unnecessary, unwise, and vicious in principle, and therefore oppose it. Tho. Spight. j. a. goulden. J. W. Alexander. G. W. Fairchild. J. T. Watkins. William E. Cox. O' D.