397 



to % inch long, in a water temperature of 92°. In a single depression 

 one foot in diameter, with water only Vj inch deep, there were fifty 

 fry, some dead, some nearly dead, and others flopping about wildly. 

 It is impossible to estimate with any accuracy the number of fry that 

 have already perished. It is surely hundreds of thousands, possibly 

 millions. 



May 25. Saw several carp spawning this morning in the head of 

 Dierker Lake. Fresh eggs, and those nearly ready to hatch, are 

 abundant on Ccratophyllmn and dead drift. 



Ma\ 26. Carp fry ^4 to ^ inch long are abundant today in the 

 head of Liverpool Lake, west shore, just below the inlet ditch, in 2 to 

 6 inches of water, in vegetation. They are feeding at and very near 

 the bottom. A cheese-cloth seine used in water i to 2 feet deep, away 

 from the shore and out of the vegetation zone, does not get them. 



May 26. Searched for carp fry today along the west shore of 

 Thompson's Lake, from half a mile below the club house to Big 

 Cove. Found them abundant in "blanket-moss" zone, along the edge 

 of the lake, in water 4 to (S inches deep. By lifting up "moss" we 

 can see them feeding on the bottom. Some also are feeding in the 

 moss near the surface. The temperature of the water is 89° to 90° 

 Fahr. in the upper two inches ; 81° to 83° in the lower two inches. In 

 a brush patch just above the Big Cove, fry are abundant in moss- 

 choked water 3 feet deep. Picked them up with a tin cup from sur- 

 face moss, and got large numbers with Ekman dredge from the bot- 

 tom, under the moss. 



June. The month of June was unusually hot and dry, air tempera- 

 tures ranging from 85° to 98° except for a short cool spell June 12 

 and 13. The river gage was at 8.4 feet on June 15, fully three feet 

 lower than on the same date last year, and had dropped to 7.9 feet by 

 June 21. Danhole's field is all dry except the lotus pond. The lakes 

 are so low and choked with vegetation as to make navigation difficult 

 with either skiffs or launches. Heavy rains June 25 caused a tem- 

 porary rise of a few inches. Field operations of the month included 

 some search for carp fry, but without success in any instance. Actual 

 observation of carp spawning was made as late as June 2, and reports 

 of spawning as late as June 8 were received from fishermen. 



June 2. A dozen or so carp spawned about a drift pile in Flag 

 Lake Swale this morning, in water 5^ feet deep. Went to the spot 

 immediately with William Selby, fishennan, who brought in the re- 

 port, and got an abundance of fresh eggs. Hatched these in the lab- 

 oratory, and kept them until a satisfactory determination of the spe- 

 cies was possible. While buffalo are believed to spawn frequently in 

 water as deep as this, carp certainly do not do it often. 



