, 
THE ‘‘ BREAKING” OF BARTON FISHPOND 17 
Anabeena Hassallii was also observed but in much less quantity 
than on the previous visit. It no doubt appears earlier than 
Aphanizomenon and was rapidly giving way to that species. 
July 30th a very large quantity of Aphanizomenon was in the water, 
forming a thick scum on the surface. 
August 31st this Alga still in large quantity. October 16th it 
had almost disappeared only a few small bundles floating about, the 
water was quite clear and bright. 
On the 13th of August, 1909, I made some marks on a sheet of 
note paper with water containing Aphanizomenon, exposed it to light 
and sun for a year, and at the time of writing (January, 1911), it is 
as fresh a green as ever, this shows how very permanent the colouring 
matter is. 
As I said above, the * breaking” of this pond was not noticed 
until 1908. JI have a theory as to how the occurrence may have been 
started, ‘lhe great Crested Grebe is found on the Shropshire Meres, 
on which “ breaking” occurs, they are also found on Barton Fish 
Pond, I think it is quite possible that some of these birds have come 
from Shropshire carrying some Alga with them, the conditions being 
favourable, it had spea'l] to an enormous extent and continued for 
three successive summers, this seems a likely explanation of its 
appearance: Ellesmere being only 60 miles in a straight line from 
Barton Station. Of course the Alga may have been in the pond in 
small quantity for some years before it was noticed; gradually 
increasing each year until the ‘ breaking ” occurred. 
I have been frequently asked by fishermen if anythizg could be 
done to clear the pond of the Alga, Iam afraid I cannot suggest a 
remedy ; now it is once established, nature must take its course. 
Another matter is how far is the water affected by organic 
contamination, this would be an interesting matter for investigation. 
The “ breaking ” of Ellesmere wasa great source of wonder until 
the matter was finally settled by a committee of the Caradoc Field 
Club, 
