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Show LAXVA OP JNSECTS. v 177 of the otean, Under the magnifying glass, these masses were - found to consist almost, entirely of the bras or dr} ed skins of a dipterous, inflect, adhering together* They had apparently been driven upon the shpre at different periods; some appearing fresher and jof. a different texture from others, the, insects having - been of a larger size. The question where these larvfe originated presents a curious subject of inquiry.. Nothing living haa as yet been detected in the lake, and only a few large insects in the brackish springs, which da not at all resemble these remains either in shape* or size. That they have existed in almost incredible numbers- is evident, as the shores are lined with their skins, and the. bottom, in. many instances, for a longdistance out from the shores, is covered with them.* • Thfe is especially the case in t^ e npjrth- east part. of the lake, where they lie on the bottom a * fodt thick, mingled with the oozy mud, of which they fojrip a . large proportion. Yesterday,, I observed from the shore several dark patches far out in the lake, apparently of dull reddish, water, ldoking' very much, like large ' shoals. Upon rowing over . some of them, however, I found that • this change- in the colour of the water, here very shallow, was not Occasioned by any marked difference in the deptlj, but from the - v bottom being covered with these lame,, which the oars raised at every stroke, rendering the water turbid and offensive.. Some of tfye depositee were very large, and must have covered lAany hundred acres; Monday, May 6.- Morning clear and warm. v About V mile to the westward of camp the forces of the land and w^ ter party we're , united, to erect a triangulation station, upon a high, rocky knob, near the southern extremity of the range, commanding a view to the south and west. The distance from the water m&, about a ) mile, and the elevation of the station about six hundred & fit. Soine* long sticks were selected from a pile of . drift- wood on* the ; beach, and transported <? n the shoulders of the meny over very?'' rocky, ascending ground, covered with large boulders of a close* . grained, compact- limestone. The. labotrir was very great, and was much enhanced by the annoyance of swarms of gnats: They have' become an intolerable nuisance. Our faces and fyands are covered with. scara and blotches from the ineestiant irritation occasioned by . their bitfes. . - - • - Having ^ erected the station, we. proceeded along the shore m search of a camping- place, which was found just south of a little rocky hntte, having in front 4>{ it the first well- defined reef I had 12 ' |