14 SANDUSKY FLORA. 



dead trees which they believed to have been killed by 

 high water, and old residents of Put-in-Bay and 

 Kelley's Island have told me the same thing about 

 trees there. It is probable that these trees were killed 

 in 1838 when the water was nearly as high as in 1858, 

 though it did not remain high so long. Hundreds of 

 walnut stumps are still standing along the border of 

 the marshes east of Sandusky where even now, although 

 the water is lower than usual, it is too wet for walnut 

 trees to grow. One that stood recently on ground only 

 six inches above the present lake level measured 5 feet 4 

 inches in diameter. We may infer from this that during 

 the life of this tree, probably over three hundred years, 

 the water was not so high as in the present century. 



SUBMERGED FORESTS. 



Stumps and logs with roots attached have been 

 found under water and show that when the trees grew 

 the water must have been considerably lower than it 

 has been during the present century. In the lake at 

 Deisler's bathing beach, Put-in-Bay, was a sycamore 

 stump that was dangerous to persons swimming, as it 

 did not show above the water, and had to be blasted 

 out. Other stumps in the water not far from where this 

 one stood may still be seen. Near the Black Channel in 

 Sandusky bay are cedar stumps standing upright with 

 roots in place and completely submerged, except at 

 such low stages of the water as rarely occur, when a 

 little of the tops project. About a mile west of Venice 

 many buried cedar stumps have been found below the 

 level of the lake. 



Besides stumps a large amount of submerged timber 

 that fell without being cut has been found where it fell, 

 and much of it is to be seen now. The greatest 

 quantity is in the Huron marsh connected with San- 

 dusky Bay. In parts where the water and mud are not 

 very deep the logs may be easily seen in such numbers 



