206 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January 



and to a depth of at least six feet, were fresh water shells innumer- 

 able, of all sizes, such as are to be seen in the specimens exhibited. 

 Mr. Ellis had dug down for about six feet, but realizing that there 

 was a danger of striking a subterranean water course which might 

 rise and inundate the land, he desisted Flowing into the valley 

 and past Mr Ellis' house, is a small stream which loses itself 

 lower down, but reappears some distance below the natural dam 

 alluded to. The land below the dam is considerably lower than it 

 is on the upper side, giving a good opportunity for drainage, so 

 Mr. Ellis and his partner are running a tunnel through the dyke 

 in order to ensure safety against possible flooding ; a very wise 

 precaution. Crops of different kinds had been attempted on parts 

 of the land ; some parts gave good results whilst others showed 

 acidity. There was a rank growth of weeds belonging to the 

 Cenopodium family, growing on portions of the site of the lake. 

 Oats in places grew rank but the straw showed lack of phosphoric 

 acid and potash and were in patches quite stunted. It was reported 

 that within the memory of some of the inhabitants in the vicinity 

 the lake site had been covered with water but of that no definite 

 information was obtainable. 



Among the most recent additions to the library of the Geo- 

 logical Survey is the "Nature Library" in ten volumes. This 

 great work published by Doubleday, Page & Co., covers the 

 whole natural history field, and though perhaps to be classed 

 among "popular" rather than "scientific" books, every volume 

 has been written and edited by a specialist. 



