STEBBINS NATURE-STUDY IN CAMP 145 



of each species, the "lay of the land," the water, soil, slopes, ex- 

 posure, etc., that is: — what are in the place and why are they there? 

 as an effort to understand the relations and interrelations of the 

 group. 



To illustrate: 



Let us look at a small pond such as may be found in many places 

 in the northern United States and Canada. It is roughly circular 

 in outline, only a few acres in extent, with sandy shores sloping 

 rather steeply in the immediate vicinity of the pond, but at a 

 distance of a rod or two the land becomes nearly level and spreads 

 out in a sandy, dry area for some distance. The level, higher 

 areas are sparsely clothed with a rather stunted growth of pitch 

 pines, scrub oaks, grey birches, a few low bushes, blueberry or 

 New Jersey tea, low blackberry vines, and androfrogon or poverty- 

 grass, interspersed with other scanty vegetation. Nearer the edge 

 of the water grow a few alders and willows, a group of red maples 

 and sour gums, with sedges and water-loving grasses. 



Standing with their feet in the water are rushes, button bushes, 

 swamp loosestrife and cassandra. Farthei out are yellow and white 

 water-lilies, bladderworts, floating heart, potaneagetous, homwort, 

 myriophyllium and other plants, floating or rooted. 



Dragon flies dart above the surface catching sm.aller insects, 

 whirligig beetles rush wildly about in spirals, water boatmen come 

 to the surface for air, caddis fly larvae with houses of various styles 

 of architecture crawl sluggishly about on the bottom or on stems 

 of plants, snails lay their eggs, a freshwater m.ussel ploughs slowly 

 along, only the tip of his shell with the siphon above sand, making 

 a line by which we easily trail him. 



In shallow water, near the shore are some plats cleared of rub- 

 bish, over each of which a male pumpkin-seed stands guard; 

 rushing fiercel}^ at any intruder. This is the nest in which the 

 female has left her eggs, now defended and protected by the 

 father. 



Newts nose along the bottom. Bullheads rumble along the 

 muddy, deeper sections. Near that group of water plants is a 

 school of yellow perch. Darting about in crowds are small dace. 

 Perhaps a pickerel lies near shore so nearly motionless that his 

 shadow on the bottom is the only thing to catch the eye, unless, 

 alarmed, he darts off like an arrow from a bent bow. 



