l62 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Bald Mountain pond [map 2, r]. This pond was the richest 

 in aquatic life of any single body of water about Old Forge, 

 but it was three miles distant, up hill most of the way, and there 

 was no boat upon it nor shelter near it. Its banks were difficult 

 of access and built on treacherous sphagnum where footings 

 were very insecure. But its attractiveness was so great that 

 we hauled a boat to, it and spent several days upon it; and we 

 returned to it a number of times afterward, by boat to First 

 lake and a climb up the hill to the ledge where it nestles against 

 the foot of the mountain from which it takes its name. 



It is but a narrow strip of black water less than half a mile 

 long, a mere dilation of the mountain brook that spreads out and 

 fills a gutter in the rocky slope. From the pond, the brook emerges 

 again to descend in a succession of cascades and numerous windings 

 in and out among fern clad boulders, until it enters the second 

 lake of the Fulton chain through a miniature bottom land marsh. 



From the side of the pond the long mountain ridge rises steep 

 and forest clad, and at either end there is a miniature sphagnum 

 meadow decked with orchids and cotton grass and bordered by pale 

 green tamaracks, backed by dark hemlocks and balsam firs. Lum- 

 bering operations have left the tops of felled hemlocks lying in its 

 borders half submerged. The floating leaves of yellow water lilies 

 thickly cover its surface wherever the water is not too deep for 

 the long stems to reach bottom. 



In these lily beds there was a remarkable abundance of the red 

 newt (Diemyctylus viridescens);a dozen of them could 

 be seen at once almost anywhere on looking down among the 

 tangled stems. I captured a number of them and made an exami- 

 nation of their food and found that they had all been feeding 

 exclusively on a small bivalve mollusk that was common upon the 

 pond bottom. 



Almost equally noteworthy for abundance (as well as for the size 

 attained) were the big red leeches (Haemopsis grand is) 

 which could be seen undulating through the water anywhere along 

 shore. This pond has been famed for its trout fishing and it is 

 locally reported that the trout feed freely on these leeches. We 

 were desirous, therefore, of verifying this report by a study of the 

 trout food, and the hatchery staff made an effort to take trout for 

 examination and used both line and seines for that purpose, but 

 without success. No trout were obtained, nor did we see any sign 

 that trout were present in the pond. Perhaps it is now fished out. 



