38 Tzi'Ciify-sl.rtli .Imiiial Meeting 



bottom, the foulness of the water. Have you examined very 

 closely as to the food of the whitefish? 



Professor Birge: I have not at all. 



Dr. Parker: I could give a little history of my connection 

 with that a great man}- years ago. I found in some whitehsh 

 brought from Lake Michigan to Grand Haven, that the food in 

 the stomach of the fish was a small bivalve not larger than a 

 grain of sand. 1 was quite nonplussed at first in looking it over. 

 I was looking for something larger in the stomach of the fish, 

 and I examined several before it occurred to me to make use of 

 the magnifying glass. I did so, and I found that what I sup- 

 posed was sand was a very minute bivalve shell. Afterwards, in 

 examining a fish on the Lake Superior shore, I found not only 

 the same small shell, but I found other shell fish there, the pal- 

 adina. I was (|uite surprised to find this and other large shells 

 there. 



Professor Birge: Didn't you find also with the bivalves the 

 mysisina? We found them at Charlevoix, and I tliink that 

 was tlieir chief food, was it not, Mr. Post? 



Mr. Post: I think so. 



Dr. Parker: My examination was not very thorough, but as 

 far as I could tell, I came to the conclusion the fish were feeding 

 c^n that l)ivalve. 



Air. Tondin : In connection with my duty in the neighbor- 

 hood of what is called iJead Lake, Minn., from the 15th of July 

 imtil al)out the 20th of August following, I was around on the 

 dilTereut sides of the lake. It is about 25 miles long, running 

 from two to nine miles wide. The bass, both the black and what 

 we call the green bass, grow there t(^ very large size. Three 

 vears ago tliis next month the I)lack l)ass and the red horse, or 

 what is connnonly known up th.ere as the sucker, were found 

 dead in the pond, and the stench was intolerable. There was no 

 use trving to burv them. The settlements were so few there was 

 no poss!l)ilitv that anything in the sliape of sewage should have 

 caused the fish to die. I hold in my hand the report of the West- 

 ern Society of Engineers, and there is a little item in that that 

 mav throw s(ime light on the prof(_'ssor's subject. It says "there 

 are tides in every pond, however small and insignificant, they are 

 there and percei)ti])le."' The level (^f tlie lake has not undergone 

 any variation and the depth and area of the basin remains the 

 same. It seemed to me, while the Professor was reading this 



