Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 165 



THE AQUATIC PLANTS OF LAKE MAXINKUCKEE 

 i. HORNWORT 



CERATOPHYLLUM DEMERSUM Linnaeus 



This plant grows rather abundantly in Lake Maxinkuckee over 

 mud where the water is shallow, as in Outlet Bay, near Norris Inlet, 

 and at the Weedpatch. There was a great abundance in the water 

 off the springy flat on the southwest shore, and it was also plentiful 

 near the boathouse by Norris Inlet. It grows thickly in Norris 

 Inlet, where it is very dirty and helps form the great weed-mass 

 which extends out from the inlet mouth. It has been found grow- 

 ing thick in 16 feet of water, a little in 18 feet, and has been dredged 

 up in 24-foot water. Drifts were found cast up by the waves on 

 the east side of Long Point September 20, 1900, and on September 

 28, 1900, by the pumping station bridge. 



The Hornwort retains its shape and color and also signs of life 

 through the winter. There is generally above the apices of these 

 plants under the ice large bubbles frozen in the ice, and toward the 

 latter part of the winter, crossing and recrossing curves of rows 

 of fine bubbles like strings of minute beads, suggesting that the 

 apices of the plants have a gyrating movement, and slowly exhale 

 small bubbles of gas. 



During the early summer these plants are places of attachment 

 of Rivularia and also great myriads of white globular colonies of 

 Vorticella, small, white, ball-shaped objects which shrink almost 

 to nothing when touched. 



The Hornwort is one of the most familiar plants to dwellers 

 about lakes and by many is simply known as "moss". It is the 

 plant that the inexpert angler on his first visit to the lake drags up 

 in great masses on his hook, if he attempt fishing near the bottom. 

 Many of the animals upon which fishes like to feed dwell among 

 the masses of Hornwort. One example is the beach flea, and some 

 of our herbarium specimens taken from the lake were found on 

 later study to be full of pressed beach fleas. It is among the 

 tangled masses of Hornwort that the fishes like to lurk. They af- 

 ford fishes protection in various ways, and anyone who has tried 

 to seine out a pond full of Hornwort, and had the lead line get full 

 of the weed and roll up, permitting the fishes to escape, readily 

 realizes that an abundance of these plants near the shore is about 

 as good a protection for young fishes as could be devised. 



