July 22, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



77 



tions are available for future workers in tlie 

 region or by sjiecialists on the different groups 

 represented in them. 



Preceding the annotated list there is a 

 lengthy general discussion desci-ibing collect- 

 ing methods, conditions for fish life at the 

 lake, migrations and seasonal movements, fish- 

 ing, fish protection, and fish planting. A 

 three-page table with the results of dredging 

 is of considerable biological interest, and 

 there are two other tables, which are especially 

 unique and interesting. One of the two 

 shows the number of fish taken by a single 

 angler during nine months and the other the 

 number of boats seen on the lake correlated 

 with weather conditions during two summer 

 months. A part of this discussion of fishes 

 is a fifteen-page contribution by Charles B. 

 Wilson on " Food and Parasites of Pishes." 



The treatment of the fish of the region is 

 followed by that of mammals. "Why the mam- 

 mals are taken up here is apparently not ex- 

 plained. Thirty species are listed with many 

 notes. The ones having the most direct rela- 

 tion to the life of the lake are muskrats, 

 minks, otters, and raccoons. There is a long 

 account of the muskrat, which is a very posi- 

 tive contribution to its natural history, and 

 the data given on the numbers caught there by 

 trappers will be useful in estimating the 

 value of the small inland lakes as a sotu-ce of 

 muskrat fur. 



The ninety pages of information on the 

 birds include an annotated list of 175 species. 

 At least fifty of these were found to be very 

 directly and closely related ecologically to the 

 fish and other organisms of the lake. The 

 number of aquatic and shore birds is large 

 and the total of their influence upon the life 

 of the lake is considered to be great. Some 

 food studies of water birds contribute to the 

 meager knowledge of the relation of these 

 birds to fish. The twelve pages on the coot are 

 an important addition to the literature of 

 this unique water bird. 



The reptiles are ti-eated in about forty 

 pages and they seem to be of little importance 

 in the biology of the lake except the turtles, 

 which were important as scavengers. De- 



tailed shell measurements and weights are re- 

 corded for 225 examples of four species of 

 turtles. 



Tlie water dog {Necturus inaculosus) was 

 worthy of more consideration than any of the 

 other 18 kinds of amphibians found, and it 

 is concluded from food studies of the water 

 dog that, of all the animals inhabiting the 

 lake, it was the worst enemy of fish. 



The material gathered concerning the in- 

 vertebrates and plants of the Maxinkudiee 

 region composes the second volume. The 

 slight attention that could be given to a group 

 so abundantly represented and so important 

 causes a disappointment. The May-flies and 

 dragon-flies were found to be of special im- 

 portance to the fish of the lake. A list of 56 

 species of dragon-flies with important notes 

 is given, and this was formed through the 

 help of Mr. E. B. Williamson. iNotes on 

 life-histories, behavior, and ecology are given 

 on many other forms. A notable contribution 

 showing the value of chironomid larvse as 

 fish food comes from the finding of " almost a 

 bucketful " of them in a 75 -pound buffalo- 

 fish {Ictiobus cyprinella) . 



The mollusks follow the insects but precede 

 the other arthropods, an arrangement which 

 is confusing. Mussels are fully discussed 

 with much attention to the fourteen local 

 forms, with many data on tlieir food, enemies, 

 diseases, and reproduction. The 116 other 

 species of mollusks are listed without notes. 



The account of the Crustacea of the lake is 

 based largely on the plankton studies made 

 there by Professor Juday and the investi- 

 gations on the parasitic copepods by Dr. Wil- 

 son and of tlie crawfish by Professor William 

 P. Hay. The inference " that plankton spe- 

 cies of crustaceans constitute a large part, 

 probably nearly all. of the first food of young 

 fishe-s, and much of the food of some fishes 

 throughout their entire lives" serves to cor- 

 roborate a similar conclusion concerning the 

 food of fish derived from the study of Illinois 

 fish by Dr. S. A. Forbes. 



The eleven species of leeches, which form 

 a " fairly conspicuous part of the lake fauna " 

 are discussed by Professor J. Percy Moore, of 



