AQUATIC INSECTS IN THE ADIRONDACKS 39I 



low hummock of land covered with cat-tails. Behind this hummock was 

 a shallow stretch of water in which we did some most protitable collect- 

 ing. The bottom here had once been dry land, and was covered mainly 

 with fragments of bark and twigs, but it was the home of numerous caddis 

 fly larvae, particularly those with cases of stick chimney, or cobhouse 

 type, and of the nymphs of the fine May fly, Siphlurus alter- 

 n a t u s Say. The west shore of the outlet was more accessible ; and, 

 though collecting along it was not easy because of the abundance of 

 brushwood to entangle a net, it yielded a great deal of most valuable 

 material, particularly dragon fly nymphs. My only specimens of the 

 nymphs of the two beautiful species, C o r d u 1 i a s h u r 1 1 e f f i Scudd. 

 and Leucorhinia glacialis Hagen, were obtained along this 

 shore in a sheltered place. 



Through the outlet there flows an imperceptible current, which may be 

 responsible for the presence of two interesting plants there which were 

 not observed elsewhere, the water shield, Brasenia peltata 

 Pursh, and shining river weed, Potamogeton lucens Linn. 

 Of the latter there was a bed directly in the channel, and, passing 

 over in a boat it was dehghtful to look down into the depths of the 

 clear water, at the long graceful sprays of shining lutescent leaves. A 

 species of bladder wort, Utricularia, was not uncommon in the 

 shallow water behind the cat-tail hummock, and two species of shinleaf 

 grew there at the shore, Pyrola secunda Linn, and P . e 1 1 i p t i c a 

 Nutt. 



Little Clear creek (pi. 3-6) will be discussed below in connection 

 with the account of the special studies made of the life of its waters. 



Bog ponds. Of the numerous small ponds in the vicinity of Saranac 

 Inn, hidden in the woods and fringed with a typical floating border of 

 bog moss, we collected extensively at but one — the one a quarter of a 

 mile southwest of the station and south of the track — and visited but one 

 other, about as far east of the station and north of the track. Of the 

 former only I will speak here; the other was very similar. 



This little pond (pi. 7) was a woodland gem. The picture of it presented 

 herewith gives but a poor idea of it; for the fine coloration of fringing 

 vegetation, of forest background, and of water and sky are necessarily 

 absent from the picture. It was a peculiar place to collect in, being dif- 

 ficult of access, and very difficult to collect in when reached ; but it was 

 conveniently near at hand, and was peculiarly attractive on account of 

 the many beautiful and interesting plants and insects found there Its 

 vegetation (pi. 8) showed a beautiful zonal distribution. Farthest out 



