PLANTS OF WESTERN LAKE ERIE. 
63 
VaUisneria spiralis and Heteranthera graminea are most abundant, but Ceratophyllum 
demersum, Mgr lop hyllum spicatum, Potamogeton zoster afolius , I*. perfohatus , /*. 
perfoliatus richardsonii , /■*. pectinatus, and El-odea canadensis are also plentiful. In 
some spots an abundance of Chara contraria was found with a trace of C. coronata 
and Tolypella intertexta , but there are few Characece in Put-in Bay. In the deeper 
parts of Lake St. Clair Tolypella intertexta covers the bottom with a luxuriant growth, 
but in Put-in Bay this species is scarce and the plants are. small. 
The sandbar running from Gibraltar Island to South Bass Island separates to 
some extent this part of the bay from the part about the fish-hatchery. The bar is 
usually covered with water from 1 to d feet in depth, but at times a great part of it 
is above water. On the east side of the bar the slope is steep, while on the other 
side the bar slopes gradually into Hatchery Bay. In the deeper water just east of 
the bar the vegetation is most luxuriant, great quantities of Nonas and of VaUisneria , 
with other species, being brought up at every cast of the grapple. The bar is covered 
with a layer of cobblestones and pebbles, overlying the blue clay which covers the 
bottom throughout this part of Lake Erie. Of all the plants found on the east side 
of the bar, but one grows on it; this is VaUisneria , which in many places forms dense 
patches. Besides the VaUisneria the principal plant on the bar is Potamogeton 
heterophyllous, and this I did not find elsewhere in the bay except in one wave-washed 
place on the south shore. This species flourishes all along the bar, but especially 
toward the Gibraltar end, where it is accompanied by a few plants of Potamogeton 
filiformis and a dwarf form of JVaias jlexilis with close, compact habit and strong root 
system (pi 18, fig. 2). These plants root in the clay between the stones and flourish 
wherever the stones and pebbles are not too thick. 
Plants in Hatchery Bay and in the open lake. — In Hatchery Bay the narrow- 
leaved Potamogetons , such as P. pusillus , P. zoster osfolvus, and P. peetinatus , with 
TIeteranthera graminea and JVaias Jlexilis, are especially abundant, and in quiet places 
on muddy bottom Ceratophyllum demersum, Myriophyllum spicatum, and Elodea 
canadensis are common. A few species of Characece also occur in this part of the 
bay, but nowhere in great abundance. Beyond a depth of 10.5 feet no plants were 
found, except one small plant of VaUisneria in the channel at a depth of 13.5 feet. 
A depth of 10.5 feet corresponds roughly with a 'line drawn from the northern 
extremity of South Bass Island to Gibraltar Island. Beyond this is the lake, and 
although the bottom is free from stones and of a soft clay, not a plant was found 
growing in it. This was the case wherever the lake itself was examined. Dredging 
trips were made to various points and the bottom carefully dragged, but without 
finding as much as a Chara , except that on one occasion a small amount of Lyngbya 
wollei was brought up. This alga grows much more abundantly later in the season, 
often choking up the fishermen’s nets with its coarse filaments. Close along the 
shore the stones are covered with Cladophora glomerata, to which many diatoms are 
attached, and among which many minute forms find a home. 
East Harbor. — At East Harbor there is a wide stretch of swamp intersected by 
channels which open into the lake by one deep and narrow channel protected from 
severe wave action by a sandbar. The bed of the channel is entirely free from plants, 
but along each side is a border of VaUisneria and Potamogeton, the side toward the 
water being sharply defined by the current. On the west side there is a small bank 
of VaUisneria with some, Potamogetons in the shallower water, while beyond these are 
