112 REPORTS ON INVESTIGATIONS AND PROJECTS. 



of maintaining the interior dry even in the most, severe tropical 

 showers. 



A subterranean oil-house, i6 by 20 feet, was made in order to store 

 the large amount of naphtha, oil, alcohol, and other inflammable 

 substances, and maintain them at a low temperature and in a situa- 

 tion where a fire would not spread to the laboratory buildings. 



The laboratory buildings were also repainted, two more sleeping* 

 rooms and a dark room constructed, and the roofs braced with 

 brackets to strengthen their resistance to high winds. 



Six floating live-cars were made in the shape of scows, 6 by 3 by 2 

 feet deep. These were floated by copper cylinders, and their bottoms 

 were provided with openings covered with gratings. Marine animals 

 could be maintained in good condition for months in these live-cars 

 when they were anchored under the shade of the dock so as to avoid 

 the extreme heat of the sun. 



Buoys were set out to mark the passages across the coral reefs,, 

 thus enabling us to enter or leave our harbor at any time of the 'day. 

 Everyone who has navigated in a coral-reef region knows the danger 

 of attempting to cross a coral reef in the face of the sun, and our 

 buoys obviated this difficulty. 



One hundred cocoanut palms, and a number of azalias, date palms, 

 rubber trees, bananas, and ornamental cacti were set out in order to 

 render the glare of the coral sands less severe, to beautifv the 

 grounds, and to provide protection to the buildings from hurricanes. 



The property now consists of the two main portable buildings, 

 the kitchen, aquarium, dock, oil-house, out-house, wind-mill, and 

 three cisterns ; while the vessels are the 60- foot 20-horsepower 

 ketch Physalia, the 22-foot 4-horsepower launch, the 15-foot %- 

 horsepower launch, and a row boat. 



The laboratory employees during the actively open season, from 

 April to August, consisted of two sailors, an engineer, a steward, 

 a laboratory servant, and a man-of-all-work. The large amount of 

 constructive work of the past year rendered it necessary to employ 

 six additional workmen from February 2 to April 29, and three 

 from February 2 to July 27. 



The essential parts of the laboratory were completed in the order 

 of their importance, and only the shipways remains to be set up 

 The parts of the shipways are, however, assembled, advantage being 

 taken of the necessity for hiring a schooner to transport this heavy 

 material to the Tortugas. 



