310 College of Forestry 
CHAPTER IX. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 
The facts brought out in the study of the 1915 field work 
may be summarized as follows: 
I. Oneida Lake is the largest body of inland water 
wholly within the State of New York. It is very shallow, 
the maximum depth being 55 feet, and its origin is different 
from that of the finger lakes, which are upwards of 600 feet 
in depth and occupy ancient, rock-cut river valleys. A 
shallow area borders the shore of Oneida Lake, approxi- 
mating 4,349 acres in extent. It varies from 200 to 1600 
feet in width and from 2 to 6 feet in depth. Within the 
12-foot contour is an approximate area of 8,343 acres which 
‘affords breeding and feeding grounds for fish. 
Il. The shallowness of the lake is coincident with a 
luxuriant growth of shoreward vegetation which in turn 
affords food and lodgement for a host of bottom-inhabiting 
animals, such as insects, mollusks, crustaceans, and leeches. 
Ill. The bottom of the shallow area bordering the shore 
is composed of sand, gravel or boulders, mud being confined 
to a few small isolated spots. The habitats are divisible into 
three main types; bouldery, mostly on exposed points; sandy, 
usually in bays more or less protected; and vegetation coy- 
ered, the latter being in sheltered and protected bays. 
IV. <A rich and varied mollusean fauna is present, is 
widely distributed, and includes upwards of 62 species and 
varieties, forming an animal population excelled in number 
of species and abundance of individuals by but few other 
American lakes. Thirty-three species of gastropods (snails) 
and 29 species of pelecypods (bivalves) are represented. 
V. There was found to be an abundant supply of fish 
food of all kinds, including Entomostraca, insects and insect 
larvee, crawfish, in addition to mollusks. The examination 
of the stomach contents of 130 fishes add new information 
