BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
(36 
low-growing aquatics are not uncommon. In shallower water Dianthera grows 
abundantly, and Slum cicutcefolium occurs in 6 inches of water with Asclepias 
incarnata. Beyond the Typha is a vast stretch of Phraymites communis occupying 
shallow water or exposed muddy places. 
Such is the nature of the swamp and the arrangement of the species. A few 
may he called dominant species. These grow. in groups from which the other domi- 
nant species are nearly or quite excluded, but the spaces between the larger plants 
are occupied by many small forms which occur throughout the swamp. 
Plants (/rowing about the head of the channel. — At the head of this branch of the 
channel is a quiet pool some 3 to 5 feet deep, where such forms as Utricularia vulga- 
ris , Myriophyllum , Ranuncidus divaricatus , Bidem becMi , and Ceratopliyllum find a 
congenial home and fill the water. Ilet&pcmthera graminea and Potamogetons also find 
favorable conditions here; P. natcms, P. pectmatus, P. pusillus, P. zoster of olius,. 
P. robbinsii , P. lucens , and P. amplifolius grow together in the clear, quiet water. 
Nuphar advena and Nyniphim tuberosa grow in places not occupied by Utricularia 
and Ceratophyllum , while the bottom is overgrown with Elodea , Ohara coronata , and 
C. gy mnophila var. michauxii. The average depth of water is 3 feet, with a soft mud 
bottom. On all sides this pond is surrounded by Zizania aguatica, which grows on a 
similar bottom and in the same depth of water as the Scirpus and Typha found down 
the channel. 
Growth of Nelumbium luteum. — The conditions along other channels are very 
similar to those just described, except that along the west channel Nelumbium luteum 
flourishes. The immense yellow flowers rising just above the great dark-green 
standing leaves and the water covered with huge floating pads make this the most 
striking formation of the swamp (pi. 12, fig. 2). The Nelumbium grows in from 2 to 4 
feet of water, or stray plants may be found in less than 2 feet. Many of the floating 
leaves were 20 to 24 inches across and the standing ones not much smaller. At 
Upper Sandusky Ba} r I found a floating leaf 26 inches in diameter and another with 
a petiole more than 5 feet in length. Both at Sandusky Bay and along the Portage 
River the acreage of Nelumbium was greater than at East Harbor, but nowhere did 
the plants present a more vigorous growth or so magnificent an appearance. 
Portage River swamps. — The Portage River swamps differ somewhat from those 
just described, but not sufficiently to require a detailed description. A much greater 
area is covered, and the swamp extends for miles up the river; but in general the 
distribution of plants is the same — Ileteranthera , Vallisneria , and Potamogetons along 
the stream, followed by Sagittaria rigida and the other marsh plants. The vast 
swamp is dotted here and there with pools in which. Utricularia and similar plants 
flourish. Here also I found Naias gracillima and Typha angustifolia , the latter 
growing in a brownish clay differing from that common along this stream. In many 
places the bed of the river was entirely devoid of plants, although there was no per- 
ceptible current. On the muddy shore in a quiet place the bottom was covered with 
a thick growth of Ohara sejuncta , accompanied by Nitella subglomerata , and in some 
pools Nitella tenuissima and N. polyglochin grew in 3 feet of water. 
Swamps about Sandusky Bay. — At the head of Sandusky Bay the swamps are 
also very extensive, the general features being about the same as of those along 
the Portage River. Much of the water is from 3 to 6 feet deep and supports only 
