THE NAUTILUS. 



of them are of a delicate pink. They vary greatly in shape. One is 

 like a narrow ribbon, another resembles a bunch of flowers on a 

 central stalk. The octopus tanks attracts many visitors, especially 

 when a crab is let down on a string for their benefit. 



Through the kindness of Prof. Gast I was invited to go out on 

 the dredging steamer " Johannis Miiller," which is maintained by 

 the zoological station for working the deeper portions of the Bay of 

 Naples. This steamer is about forty feet long and carries a crew of 

 four men, who, when not engaged at the wheel or boiler, assist in 

 sorting out the material on deck, or managing the dredging ma- 

 chinery. 



At 7 a. m. we left the small harbor at the west end of the city. 

 The sun rose close to Vesuvius shortly after and promised a good 

 day. After a run of twenty-five minutes, a point in the bay opposite 

 the Capo, a promentory, was reached. From here the course was 

 turned towards the Secca di Benda Palummo banks which consist 

 of coral and sponges. Upon arrival the steamer swung around, and 

 the " beam trawl" was let down. This was kept in the proper posi- 

 tion on the sea bottom, by means of glass globes filled with air 

 attached to the net. The trawl was lowered slowly into the water 

 with wire rope, after which the steamer ran very slowly, the trawl 

 thus dragging along the sea bottom and filling all the time. Three 

 hauls were made with this apparatus, the trawl remaining down half 

 an hour in each case. A mechanical indicator was used to ascertain 

 the tension during the work. After the time mentioned had elapsed, 

 the steamer was stopped and turned around, to facilitate the bringing 

 up of the outfit. This done the contents were deposited upon the 

 deck. The first haul was in 200 feet of water, the bottom, stone and 

 mud. This locality, not being especially rich in mollusks as other 

 parts of the bay, yielded only the following : 

 Leptothyra sanguined (L.) Living examples. 

 Pseudomurex (Coralliophila). meyendorffi (Calc.) Two large 

 specimens. 



Jsocardia cor (L.) 

 Cardium tuberculatum L. 

 Tellina exigua Poli. 



Pecten pes felis (L.) Only single valves of the last four. 



( To be concluded. ) 



