1897.] The Swamps of Oswego County, N. Y. 697 
a general rule, their eastern shore hard, while the others are 
bordered by moors or by wooded swamps which are but ma- 
tured portions of a moor. This is true of Mud Lake, Lake 
Neatahwantah, Paddy Lake, and the small lake in the Lily 
Marsh, all within twelve miles of Lake Ontario. At one time 
I thought the scarceness of springs might account for the fail- 
ure of moors to form. But further observation led me to think 
their meagre occurrence on this shore the result, rather than 
the cause, of the absence. 
There is what seems to me sufficient evidence to show that 
it is the action of the waves upon the eastern shore that pre- 
vents the formation of bogs there. At Mud Lake I have seen 
large masses of sphagnum and other plants from the west side 
of the lake lodged upon the east shore. Instead of taking root 
and growing they were soon washed to death by the waves. 
The action of the waves is very vigorous on the east shore of 
all the larger lakes. It is true also that where lakes are well- 
nigh filled up and the force of the waves is comparatively 
slight, the moor will begin to build from the eastern shore, but 
the belt constructed will be narrow compared with that on the 
other shores. This is the condition now existing in the Lily 
Marsh. Still another consideration points in the same direc- 
ion. The small lakes in this particular region and the larger 
ones more remote from Lake Ontario have bogs on all sides of 
them. i 
Anyone who has lived in the region need not be told that 
prevailing winds are from the west. Their intensity, which, 
by the way, is often considerable, depends upon the long 
stretch of open lake to the west, and also, perhaps, somewhat 
upon the saturated condition of the atmosphere as it is swept 
in from the lake. The wind from Lake Ontario is so strong as 
to produce a decided effect upon the trees growing near the 
shore. They stretch their branches and often, indeed, lean 
toward the southeast. Another striking illustration of the 
power of the winds on the lake shore is seen in the great drifts 
of sand along the shore, sometimes called sand-dunes. Nor is 
the drifting of sand confined to the immediate shore of the 
lake. There is a sand hill in the town of Albion near a ham- 
