324 THE AMEBIC AN NATUBALIST [Vol. LII 



causes that are influencing the present general food 

 supply for fishes, the future food supply, the plant growth 

 and other general problems related to the successful re- 

 stocking of waters in the Adirondacks. 



Such a study implies that one understand the soil and 

 its origin. The Adirondack ponds are noteworthy for 

 their abundance of sand. This sand is in the final anal- 

 ysis responsible for much of the modern life of these same 

 ponds and lakes to-day. The geological history of the 

 Adirondacks, especially its glaciology, is just becoming 

 well understood by the experts. For the purposes of this 

 paper it is simply necessary to keep in mind the fact that 

 as the glacier receded, the Adirondacks were surrounded 

 by a ring of ice. Within this ring of ice first the higher 

 peaks and later the lower areas were exposed. The gen- 

 eral result was that there were formed in succession a 

 series of temporary glacial lakes, the remnants of which 

 constitute the present Adirondack lakes and ponds. 



Lake Clear, formerly known as Big Clear Pond, is lo- 

 cated near Lake Clear R. R. Junction. It is at the head- 

 water of the Saranac Lake system, so is free from the 

 usual migration that takes place when one pond receives 

 an outlet from another. The lake contains nearly 1,000 

 acres of water, which comes entirely from springs and 

 mountain brooks. The water is clear, cool and pure— an 

 ideal freshwater pond for restocking, one would say. 

 What has thirty years of restocking by the state accom- 

 plished? The following table indicates that this pond has 

 received 17,535,850 food and game fish. 



In some regions, no less than eight successive lakes 

 have been revealed by the recent critical studies of glaci- 

 ologists. The net result is the accumulation of vast quan- 

 tities of sand from which most of the organic food has 

 been removed. 



Lake Clear is one of the remnants of a much larger 

 glacial lake, the shores of which are easily made out. 

 This lake it has been proposed to call Lake St. Germain. 2 



2 From the unpublished account of Lake Clear by Mr. Harold Ailing. 



