November, 1922. 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



158 



Diatoms, botanists will find several, original 

 articles on plants. Thus the 1906-10 volume in- 

 cludes a paper on the flora of the St. Croix River- 

 valley and Passamaquoddy Bay region, N.B.,* 

 discussed from an ecological point of view; and 

 the 1911-14 volume (Fasc. II) three papers on the 

 plants of Georgian Bay. 



Geologists will be particularly interested in two 

 articles about the geological environments of the 

 Biological Stations at Departure Bay, B.C., and 

 St. Andrews, N.B., in the 1906-10 and 1915-16 

 volumes respectively. And entomologists will 

 appreciate the three papers on Odonata and 

 Ephemeroidea (both adults and immature stages) 

 in the 1911-14 (Fasc. II) volume. 



The vast majority of articles in these six vo- 

 lumes treat however of course hydrography (in its 

 widest sense), marine biology and fishery- pro- 

 blems. To give an idea of the great variety of 

 subjects we will first take those dealing with 

 physiology, chemistry and bacteriology. 



Experiments with freezing and thawing of live 

 fishes are recorded in the 1911-14 volume; while 

 examinations of the content of iodine, etc., in 

 marine animals and algae are also found in the 

 1914-15 volume. The 1917 and 1918-20 volumes 

 contain half a dozen treatises on the putrefaction, 

 bacteriology, etc., of fresh and canned fish, 

 questions as important for the consumer as for the 

 packer. 



In the line of hydrography, five articles on the 

 temperatures, salinity, etc., of the water in the 

 Bay of Fundy and Passamaquoddy Bay will be 

 found in the 1906-10, 1914-15 and 1917 volumes; 

 while the waters at Departure Bay, B.C., are 

 treated in the 1914-15 and the 1918-20 volumes. 

 It is a well known fact, that no real understanding 

 of the movements of the fishes, their breeding- 

 habits, etc., is possible without an examination of 

 the surroundings in which they live; quite apart 

 from the importance of hydrographic investiga- 

 tions for meteorology, sailing, etc. 



As for the microscopic life (Plankton) floating 

 in the sea and in fresh-water, the most primitive 

 forms (Phyto-plankton) occurring in the Bay of 

 Fundy are recorded and discussed (distribution, 

 cultures, etc.), in the 1906-10, 1911-14, 1915-16 

 and 1918-20 volumes; the last named volume 

 also contains an article about the Diatoms from 

 other Canadian localities, viz.: the Magdalen 

 Islands, Montreal, Georgian Bay, and Lake 

 Winnipeg. The Zoo-plankton forms occurring at 

 St. Andrews, N.B., are discussed in the 1911-14 

 and 1915-16 volumes ;and the 1906-10 volume con- 

 tains an account of the different bivalve Mollusc- 

 larvae at the Atlantic coast of Canada. Also the 

 distributions of a peculiar family of pelagic worms, 

 and of floating Tunicates, at the Atlantic coast, as 



shown by the collections made by the Canadian 

 Fisheries Expedition, 1914-15, are described in the 

 1918-20 volume. 



The importance of the study of plankton-forms 

 need hardly be emphasized; the more minute and 

 primitive forms serve as food for the larger ones; 

 and practically all the marine animals, from the 

 fishes down to the lower invertebrates, have a 

 pelagic stage of shorter or longer duration, during 

 which they contribute to the make-up of the 

 plankton. Besides the plankton forms the food 

 for some of the largest whales and sharks, and for 

 certain fishes, such as the herring, etc., of enormous 

 economic importance. 



As to the bottom-life, the economic value of the 

 kelp-beds of the British Columbia coast is dis- 

 cussed in the 1914-15 volume; while marine algse 

 from Passamaquoddy Bay, N.B., are recorded 

 and described in the 1915-16 and 1918-20 volumes. 

 Accounts of the marine invertebrate fauna in 

 general will be found in the 1906-10 and 1917 

 volumes, so far as the Atlantic coast is concerned, 

 and in the 1918-20 voUme for Departure Bay, B.C. 



Coming to the diffeernt groups of invertebrates, 

 observations on the Actinaria (sea-anemones) 

 occurring at St. Andrews, N.B., are found in the 

 '1906-10 volume; while the 1917 and 1918-20 

 volumes contain two papers (the one an illustrated 

 semipopular key) on the Hydroids of eastern 

 Canada. 



The freshwater-leeches and polyzoa (Bryozoa) 

 occurring in Georgian Bay, Ont., are recorded in 

 the 1911-14 volume (Fasc. II). 



The 1911-14 volume also contains an account 

 of the freshwater-molluscs of Georgian Bay, Ont., 

 while the pearly freshwater-mussels of Ontario are 

 discussed in the 1917 volume as to their economic 

 value. 



A list of the marine molluscs found at St. 

 Andrews, N.B., will be found in the 1911-14 

 volume (Fasc. I) and the 1917 volume contains 

 an interesting account of the ship-worm (Teredo 

 navalis), so destructive an animal to the wharves, 

 etc. Five papers dealing with oysters and clams 

 in tc Maritime Provinces (Gulf of St. Lawrence) 

 will be found in the 1906-10, 1914-15, and 1915-16 

 volumes, treating of their economic importance, 

 proper surroundings, diseases, etc. 



Turning to Crustacea we will find two important 

 contributions to our knowledge of the freshwater 

 forms of Ontario in the 1911-14 volume; two other 

 papers on the marine forms occurring at St. 

 Andrews, N.B., in the 1906-10 and 1911-14 

 volumes; and a fifth on the marine Decapods at 

 the coasts of British Columbia in the 1906-10 

 volume. The most valuable of all our cursta- 

 ceans, the lobster, of course also comes in for 

 attention; and six articles on its physiology, 

 histology, diseases, surroundings, etc., will be 

 found in the 1906-10, 1914-15, 1917, and 1918-20 

 volumes. The fragility of the very young lobsters, 

 and their susceptibility to less perfect surroundings 

 add to the importance of these papers. 



As to the simple looking, but highly organized 

 Tunicates (sea-squirts), a detailed description, 

 accompanied by twelve beautiful plates, of 

 Ascidiacea collected in British Columbia and at 

 Herschel Island, Arctic Canada, recording a 

 number of new species, will be found in the 1906- 

 10 volume. 



