l82 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



with a mass of dead forest tree leaves. Among these leaves, where 

 submerged, dwelt an abundance of amphipods. In these leaf 

 drifts too, especially after every freshet were to be found many 

 earthworms, dislodged from the banks by the undercutting of the 

 current, and stranded here. 



The plankton of the pools was not rich, but it contained a goodly 

 proportion of Entomostraca chiefly salmon-tinted Diaptomus and 

 a considerable variety (though a small proportion) of Rotifers, 

 and a few Heliozoans, and a few Peridinia and other flagellates, 

 many Diatoms of a few species, and a variable proportion of small 

 midge larvae. The bottom and sides of the pool sheltered midge 

 larvae, and May fly nymphs of the genus Leptophlebia. Besides 

 the red-bellied minnow, the only other important competitors for 

 the scanty food the pools offered were the horned dace, and large 

 dragon fly nymphs of the bottom belonging to the genus Cordu- 

 legaster [see account of these in Entomological News, 16:3-6]. 



The minnows lived in the pools, playing out on the shoals in 

 little resplendent groups when the coast was clear, and retreating 

 to the deep places and to the shelter of undercut banks when 

 danger appeared. 



Mr Ferguson studied them here through April, May and the first 

 part of June. He made six collections of the minnows for food 

 examination of stomach contents and prepared the following table. 

 The things eaten are indicated by numbers in this table when 

 individuals could be certainly counted. When they could not the 

 occurrence of their remains is indicated in the table by a *. 



