DEPARTMENT 0E MARINE BIOLOGY. I3I 



far above the hurricane rampart, on the outer keys, which are exposed to 

 severe storms, but much nearer high-tide mark in the sheltered places along 

 the various bights and small channels. 



With these points in view, experiments were conducted in Washington 

 upon the two races planted on the Florida Keys. Beginning with an immer- 

 sion of 30 seconds through intermediate stages up to 5 days, it was found 

 that some of the Cerions could withstand an immersion of 4 days in sea- 

 water, but the 5-day experiment seemed to be fatal to them. 



These experiments were made by tying the specimens in a piece of bobinet 

 and immersing them in a jar of sea-water, the latter being changed daily in 

 the prolonged experiments. 



Little is known about the life-history of Cerions; but they are known to 

 be remarkably variable and usually very restricted in their distribution and 

 very abundant where they occur. They are very tenacious of life, for we 

 have had specimens in the U. S. National Museum for more than eight years 

 which occasionally leave the tray in which they are placed and seek a new 

 resting-place. They are also not particular about specific food, in fact, I 

 have come to look upon them as "the goats" among the Mollusca. Then, 

 too, they are not readily affected by changes in temperature, since the U. S. 

 National Museum was not heated on Sundays, and the temperature sur- 

 rounding those above referred to was quite low on this day during the winter 

 season. All these features point to this group as a remarkably desirable one 

 for investigation, with the hope that the various experiments to which they 

 might be subjected would eventually yield information to enable us to under- 

 stand what is meant by "the Protean nature" of this group. 



Report upon Anthozoa, by L. R. Cary, Princeton University. 



The studies upon gorgonians begun at Tortugas in 1910 were continued 

 during the present year. In February and March, while at the temporary 

 laboratory established by Dr. Mayer at Montego Bay, Jamaica, an oppor- 

 tunity was afforded to continue observations under the conditions occurring 

 on the Jamaica coast, which differ to a considerable degree from those pre- 

 vailing in the neighborhood of Tortugas. Owing to the shortness of the 

 season at Montego Bay, the results were of necessity those of observation 

 rather than of experiment, and will supplement the more extensive work 

 carried on at Tortugas. 



The sensitivity of different regions of the body and the general reactions of 

 the hydroid Amalthcea degeneratus, which is probably the hydroid of Pachy- 

 cordyle degeneratus Mayer, and which I discovered growing in clusters upon 

 the shaded piers of the United Fruit Company's wharf at Montego Bay, 

 were studied in detail in order to procure a physiological basis with which 

 to correlate the structure and arrangement of the nervous system in this 

 form. Its nervous system was studied by the use of the methylene blue 

 method of intra-vitam staining, and an abundance of material was preserved 

 by the methods of fixation necessary for the use of several of the silver- 

 nitrate and gold-chloride methods of staining nerve-tissues. 



OBSERVATIONS UPON GORGONIANS AT TORTUGAS. 



The following table gives the results of the measurements of the gorgo- 

 nians growing attached to a large coral head, Orbicella annularis, for which 

 growth records have been kept since June 1910: 



