78 THE ‘‘ BREAKING’? OF BARTON FISHPOND 
Mr. W, Phillips, F.L.S.{ in a paper on the Shropshire Meres, 
counted the number of Algze contained in a drop of water the size of 
a pin head and found them to be 300, so what myriads of these 
minute plants there must be in Barton fish pond with its area of 
seven acres. 
During this year I visited the pond several times and found that 
“ breaking” had again occured. but not to so great an extent as I 
had seen it in previous years, in spite of the very hot weather. 
My first visit was on May 6th when there was not the slightest 
trace of Aphanizomenon or Anabena to be found. On June 4th there 
was a large quantity of Anabzena Hassallii floating about, but not a 
trace of Aphanizomenon to be found. On July Ist and 29th the pond 
was ‘“ breaking” badly, and on August 19th not a trace of the Alga 
was to be found, even on careful microscopical examination, but again 
on September 3rd and also on October 15th there was considerable 
quantity of Aphanizomenon to be seen. On the latter date it was 
starting to decay at the South-West end of the pond. It is a 
remarkable fact that the Alga should disappear for a time during the 
Summer; perhaps the temperature of the water was too hot for it, 
one would have expected to find it in greater quantity during the 
very hot weather, but this was not so. 
t ‘Breaking of the Shropshire Meres,” by W. Phillips, F.Z.S. 
ransactions of Shropshire Natural History Society, Vol. VII. 
