A REMARKABLE MARL LAKE 503 



represent shallows in the original lake bottom, upon which, after 

 Chara had established itself, the marl accumulated, both by 

 direct growth of the plants and by sedimentation. It may be 

 worthy of mention that the Chara growing on the steep banks 

 may, in part, account for their steepness by acting as holding 

 agents, binding the particles of sediment in place by stems and 

 the rootlike organs which the plant sends into the mud. It is 

 probable that but a small part of the Chara that grow in the lake 

 ever reaches the shore wave-line, and much must break up by 

 the purely chemical processes resulting from organic decay in 

 relatively deep water. 



Charles A. Davis. 



