THE ALKALINE AND BOKACIC LAKES OF CALIFOENIA. 157 
The Artemia fertilise before referred to as being plentiful in 
Mono Lake, is also exceedingly abundant in Owen’s Lake. A 
peculiarity of this crustacean is that it congregates into masses 
which have often a strange appearance in the water. These 
masses sometimes stretch out in such a way as to have the form 
of a serpent, while at others they represent circles or various 
irregular figures. A gentle breeze scarcely affects water filled 
by Artemice , so that while on all sides the water is slightly 
ruffled, that which is occupied by these dense aggregations 
remains perfectly smooth, thus indicating the figure of the 
mass. On placing some of these crustaceans in a bottle filled 
with lake water, for the purpose of preserving them for subse- 
quent microscopical examination, it was found that those which 
died rapidly disappeared, and on closely examining what 
had taken place, it soon became evident that as soon as vitality 
had ceased, chemical action was set up, and the animal 
gradually dissolved in the strongly alkaline brine. 
Burton Springs are situated at the extreme northern point of 
Owen’s Valley. These springs rise from the earth over an area 
of about eighty square feet, which forms a basin or pond that 
pours its heated waters into a narrow creek. In this basin a 
vegetable growth is developed at a temperature of about 160° F., 
and is continued into the creek to a distance of about a hundred 
yards from the springs ; where, at a temperature of about 
120° F., the algae grow to a length of over two feet, looking 
like bunches of waving hair of a beautiful green colour. Below 
the temperature of 100° F., these plants cease to grow, and give 
way to a slimy fungus, which is also green in colour, but finally 
disappears, as the temperature of the water decreases. Dr. J. 
H. Wood, junr., who has carefully examined this growth, makes 
the following observations with regard to it : — u This plant 
' certainly belongs to the Nostochacece , and seems a sort of con- 
necting link between the genera Hormosijphon of Kutzing and 
Nostoc. 
“ The best algologists now refuse to recognize the former 
.group as generically distinct, and the characters presented by 
this plant seem to corroborate this view. 
“ The species appears to be an undescribed one, and I would 
propose for it the specific name Caladarium , which is sug- 
gested by its place of growth.” * 
Twenty miles south from Owen’s Lake, across a sage-brush 
and grease-wood waste, the surface of which is plentifully strewn 
with fragments of lava, pumice and basalt, is Little Lake. This 
sheet of water, which is of comparatively small extent, is sur- 
rounded by huge masses of contorted vesicular lava, and 
* “ Silliman’s Journal,” vol. xlvi. 1868, p. 33. 
