248 Roosrrdt Wild Life Annals 



and dissolved organic materials, which become food for plants and thus enrich or 

 fertilize the water of the lake, making it a more favorable culture medium for 

 aquatic vegetation, and ultimately a source of food for fish. Since Oneida Lake 

 is in the ,St. Lawrence drainage it is, as Clarke ('24, p. 19) has shown, essentially 

 a calcium carbonate solution, or "hard" water, and he calculates that each year 

 104 tons of soluble inorganic materials are removed from a square mile of this land 

 by drainage. The "cyclic sodium" that is carried inland by the winds from the 

 sea, amounts to between .3 and .4 parts per million in the region of this lake (cf. 

 lacksou, '05, for maps). In addition to the mineral enrichment, there is an amount 

 of nutriment derived from solutions obtained from plants and animals, as shown 

 for Wi.sconsin lakes by Birge and Juday ('26). The "dust-detritus" of plants, 

 to which Petersen called attention, and which Baker ('18, p. 41) pointed out for 

 Oneida Lake, consists of fragmented material, remains of both plants and animals, 

 including no doubt also the excrement from numerous animals, and deserves careful 

 attention in this lake. In the course of a year many thousands of tons of decaying 

 l)lants and animals, including algae, gross water plants. Mayflies, and dead fish, 

 are circulated in this culture medium. The drainage and products of the lake 

 itself are therefore favorable to the enrichment of the waters (Adams. "15. 

 pp. 23-24). As the lake is shallow, the waters are readily warmed during the 

 spring and summer and with the inwash of food materials, permit rooted vegeta- 

 tion (Fig. 182) to secure nourishment from the soil (Pond, '05; Kofoid, '03, p. 

 484), both the rooted and non-rooted plants finding particularly favorable condi- 

 tions for luxuriant growth, much of which in turn becomes forage for aquatic 

 animals, and ultimately food for most of the fish. 



The shallow waters, as has been stated, abound in aquatic plants (Figs. 205, 

 206, 211), including at certain seasons vast amounts of minute plankton algae and 

 other kinds as well, in addition to rooted and non-rooted gross vegetation, particu- 

 larly in the protected coves and bays. Many of the details of this vegetation have 

 been illustrated and recor^led by l'>aker ('16, '18) and House ('18). 



In comiection with c iinpri'licnsive plans for this fish survey, provision was 

 made for a chemical and .i tcniper.-iture survey of the lake. An appropriation was 

 secured to start the work, a chemist and e(|uii)nient, including deep-sea ther- 

 mometers, were secured, hut later this had regretfully to be abandoned. Although 

 chemical data for Oneida Lake are lacking, from what is known elsewhere it 

 seems safe to conclude that the hydrogen ion concentration, the relative degree 

 of alkalinity or acidity, (pH), in Oneida Lake is less than in Lake Ontario, where 

 Volman and Hannan ('21) found that pH was 7.8 in March, and 8.8 in August. 

 Neutrality is at pH 7.0, so these waters are therefore alkaline. Although Oneida 

 Lake is in the .same drainage, its very abundant vegetation would be expected to 

 increase the alkalinity, and the organic debris to decrease it ; but on the average it 

 should remain alkaline. The seasonal temperature stratification of the lake un- 

 doubtedlv causes vertical dilTerences also in the hydrogen ion concentration. 



