BIOLOGY, MARINE — MAYER. II 3 



With the exception of a small amount of glassware and reagents, 

 all of the laboratory apparatus and furniture was purchased during 

 the present year. The laboratory is equipped with a very complete 

 supply of chemicals, photographic apparatus, a delicate balance, 

 glassware, aquaria, and books of general reference. The furniture 

 consists of light chairs, tables, and lounges, and the beds are swung 

 from the roof-beams, thus avoiding ants and other tropical pests. 



The difficulties of maintaining an efficient laboratory at Tortugas 

 are considerable, but by no means insurmountable or of a character 

 to interfere with the success of the most elaborate investigations. 

 Its base of supplies. Key West, is 70 miles away, and is itself 140 

 miles from the mainland. This increases the cost of all ordinary 

 supplies, and renders it desirable to purchase in bulk in the north 

 as far as may be possible. All ordinary needs must be appreciated 

 and provided for a long time in advance. At least ten days must 

 elapse before anything can be ordered by mail and delivered from 

 New York. Labor is expensive, and if not carefully selected, ineffi- 

 cient, and high wages must be paid in order that men may remain 

 content to labor continuously in so isolated a region as the Tortugas. 



To offset these disadvantages the Tortugas affords a situation 

 securely isolated from tropical infections. The pelagic fauna is 

 the richest in the Atlantic, and the coral reefs provide a varied 

 fauna. The station provides unrivaled facilities for researches in 

 physiology, regeneration, embryology, behavior, and life histories, 

 and for all studies requiring that animals be maintained alive for 

 considerable periods. At no station in the world is the ocean water 

 purer or the fauna less disturbed by local fisheries. In the opinion 

 of the director advantage should be taken of these conditions, and the 

 work of the laboratory should be aimed in the direction enumerated 

 above rather than to the amassing of collections for systematic study. 

 I 



THE SCIENTIFIC WORK OF THE LABORATORY. 



Invitations to prosecute researches at the laboratory were extended 

 to a number of biologists distinguished for their investigations 

 in science, and from among the number the following gentlemen 

 accepted and carried out investigations at the Tortugas : Profs. E. 

 G. Conklin, from April 21 to May 13; H. S. Jennings from June 2 

 to 22 ; William K. Brooks and his assistant, Mr, Kellner, from June 

 16 to July 19 ; R. P. Cowles from June 20 to July 26; Jacob Reighard 

 and H. F. Perkins from June 23 to July 26. Mr. Davenport Hooker, 

 of Yale University, served as scientific collector for the laboratory 

 during June and July. 

 8 



