The Produclivily of Fish Food in Oneida Lake 39 



the south short of Long Point are all of this material, as is a 

 large tract bordering the south shore of Short Point Bay. The 

 water in these small bays ranges from two to five feet in depth. 

 It is estimated that there are upwards of 684 acres of mud 

 bottom in Lower South Bay and Short Point Bay. The deepest 

 water noted in the bay was 15 feet, which occurred in the 

 entrance to the east. Beyond this place, between the main land 

 and Dunham Island, mud occurs at a depth of 18 feet and 

 extends over nearly all of this deep water area. The bottom 

 material here is soft, black, and oozy. 



To recapitulate, the five characteristic types of bottom in 

 Lower South Bay aggregate 881 acres, divided approximately 

 as follows : 



Boulder and gravel 20 acres 



Sand 85 " 



Clay 92 " 



Mud 684 " 



Total acreage 881 



This difference of bottom material is due to the varying 

 physical conditions in the lake, such as exposed and protected 

 shores, depth of water, etc. Many of these conditions may be 

 met with as one proceeds lakeward from the shore, boulders on 

 an exposed point in shallow water (two to three feet), gravel 

 in water deep enough to be less effected by the full force of 

 the waves (three to five feet), sand in still deeper water (four 

 to six feet), sandy clay in water deep enough to be out of reach 

 of the shallow waves (six to eight feet), and mud in the 

 deepest water (seven to fifteen feet). That the animals and 

 plants are influenced by these physical factors will be shown 

 in a subsequent chapter. The absence of beach pools, so char- 

 acteristic of many of the lakes of Michigan (H. B. Baker, '11, 

 '14) and Wisconsin (F. C. Baker, '11) was noted in the west 

 end of Oneida Lake. 



Over much of the bottom there lies a covering of organic 

 material consisting of small plant fragments, pieces of wood, 



