182 NEW. YORK STATE MUSEUM 
with a mass of dead forest tree leaves. Among these leaves, where 
submerged, dwelt an abundance of amphipods. In these leaf 
drifts too, especially after every freshet were to be found many 
earthworms, dislodged from the banks by the undercutting of the 
Chinrent, aimal sitraimeledl Inere, 
The plankton of the pools was not rich, but it contained a goodly. 
proportion of, Entomostraca chiefly salmon-tinted Diaptomus and 
a considerable variety (though a small proportion) of Rotifers, 
and a few Heliozoans, and a few Peridinia and other flagellates, 
many Diatoms of a few species, and a variable proportion of small 
midge larvae. The bottom and sides of the pool sheltered midge 
larvae, and May fly nymphs of the genus Leptophlebia. Besides 
the red-bellied minnow, the only other important competitors for 
the scanty food the pools offered were the horned dace, and large 
dragon fly nymphs of the bottom belonging to the genus Cordu- 
legaster [see account of these in Entomological News, 16:3-6]. 
The minnows lived in the pools, playing out on the shoals in 
little resplendent groups when the coast was clear, and retreating 
to the deep places and to the shelter of undercut banks when 
danger appeared. | 
Mr Ferguson studied them here through April, May and the first 
part of June. He made six collections of the minnows for food 
examination of stomach contents and prepared the following table. 
The things eaten are indicated by numbers in this table when 
individuals could be certainly counted. When they could not the 
occurrence of their remains is indicated in the table by a *. 
