14 
of the trip in a row boat. During the months of September, 
October, and the most of November, 1897, the river stood at 
the present low-water mark, that is, about two feet by the gauge, 
and the lake was drained to the lowest limit reached since. our 
operations were commenced at Havana. Its bed at the north 
end, for a distance of about three quarters of a mile, was exposed, 
leaving an expanse of the softest black ooze, through which a 
narrow, winding channel several feet in width, containing sey- 
eral inches of water, was kept open by our boats and those of 
occasional sportsmen. When winds from the north prevailed, 
even this insignificant highway was left bare. Under these con- 
ditions ingress and egress over and through this bed of ooze be- 
came a task of no small difficulty. 
Owing to these two routes of approach to the lake, two points 
of collection have been established; one off Sand Point, in the 
northern half, and one about half a mile below Prickett’s Land- 
ing, in the southern half. Both are in open water and at a con- 
siderable distance from vegetation, and are equally typical loca- 
tions. Access to one of these two places is always possible 
during the period of open water or when the lake is covered with 
thick ice, but when the ice is thin or rotten, it is at times only 
possible to work out a few rods from the shore with the aid of ax 
and ice-hook. 
Plankton operations were not carried on in Phelps Lake in 
1895, owing to the failure of the river to overflow the bottom- 
lands sufficiently to invade and fill the lake. During this year 
a heavy crop of corn was raised in its fertile bed, but betore it 
was harvested the following winter the water asserted its claim 
to this territory and has since held possession. The rise which 
culminated January 1, 1896, filled the lake, and the water 
slowly decreased until November, when the few shallow pools 
that remained were frozen solid. Water again entered the lake 
January 6, 1897, and the last pool was dried up about Sep- 
tember 1 the same year. Toward the last of February, 1898, 
rising waters again poured into the lake, and owing to the high 
water of the past spring continued to occupy it and the adjacent 
territory until the middle of July. Since that time the depth of 
the water has decreased rapidly and by the middle of Septem- 
ber the lake was reduced to a few large pools. ~During the first 
