6 94 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



and has added enormously to the economic value of these remote colonies. 

 Although many of the firms fishing in these seas are Norwegian, some are British, 

 and the present report should induce other firms to do the same. It is interesting 

 to notice also that the British firms came into being largely as a result of the 

 investigations conducted by the Scotia, and so furnish a direct example of the way 

 science can pave the way for commerce. 



The original expedition and the publication of this, the first volume of its 

 Reports, have been rendered possible largely by the munificence of the Coats 

 family. In the editorial note an appeal is made for funds to continue the publica- 

 tion of the six further volumes that are ready. It is unfortunate that this appeal 

 should be made at such a period of financial stress, for the object is well worthy of 

 support, and if the remaining volumes attain the same high level as the present 

 one, they will indeed form a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the 



Antarctic. 



C. H. O'D. 



Memoirs of the Indian Museum. Vol. V. Fauna of the Chilka Lake. No. i, 

 July 191 5. [Pp. 146, with 10 plates.] (Published by order of the Trustees 

 of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 191 5. Price Rs. 15.) 



THE study of areas of water of varying salinity is of peculiar interest to biologists, 

 and the survey of the fauna of Lake Chilka, undertaken by the zoologists on the 

 staff of the Indian Museum at Calcutta, is a welcome addition to our knowledge on 

 the subject. 



Bengal's only lake is a shallow lagoon on the east coast of India, in length some 

 40 miles and about 10 miles broad. It is not quite shut off from the sea, there 

 being a narrow opening at the end of a channel some miles in length. The water 

 in the southern part of the lake remains slightly salt throughout the year, and at 

 most seasons the rest of the main area is also slightly salt, while the communicating 

 channel is practically as salt as the Bay of Bengal. Shortly after the breaking 

 of the monsoon in June, an enormous quantity of fresh-water floods the lake, and 

 from mid-August to mid-October the pressure is sufficient to drive out the salt- 

 water completely. The level of the lake, which is at all times extremely shallow, 

 rises from 6 to 8 ft. during the rains. Subsequently the water-level sinks, not 

 gradually, but by a series of steps. 



It is obvious that the animals which inhabit the lake must either migrate 

 periodically or else be able to endure the water of varying salinity. Most adopt 

 the later alternative. The fauna is principally of marine origin, while the river- 

 crabs, which are abundant in the neighbouring tanks and rice-fields, and the pond- 

 snails do not enter the lake. Fresh-water fish are found sparingly, but only in 

 the period of and immediately after the rains. 



The general environment of the lake is unfavourable to life, and consequently 

 one finds that a few species predominate, each species being fairly well represented 

 individually. There is an absence of brilliant colours, and of colours adapted for 

 concealment. 



The present volume consists of an introduction by Dr. Annandale and Mr. 

 Kemp, and special sections devoted to the Sponges (Annandale), Echiuroidea 

 (Annandale and Kemp), Ccelenterata (Annandale), Ctenophora (Annandale and 

 Kemp), Polyzoa and Cirripedia (Annandale), and Oligochaeta (Stephenson). A 

 subsequent report will, we understand, be devoted to, inter alia, a section on the 

 fish and the indigenous methods of catching fish and Crustacea. The economic 

 aspect of the fisheries of the lake, which are by no means inconsiderable, is being 



