DEPARTMENT OF MARINE BIOLOGY. 121 



welcome and invaluable advice upon the intricate subject of maintaining a 

 household in Jamaica. Altogether our many kind friends united to produce 

 upon us a charmed impression of this most beautiful of tropical islands in 

 the western hemisphere. 



It is remarkable that in many respects, from a biological point of view, 

 the region of Montego Bay supplements that of the Tortugas. For example, 

 at Tortugas one finds great areas of shallow flats, whereas a depth of 2,000 

 fathoms is met with 5 miles off shore at Montego Bay. The richest coral 

 reefs of Florida are at Tortugas, whereas at Montego Bay there are only iso- 

 lated reef patches of small area. The animals of Tortugas are exclusively 

 those of a limestone region devoid of mud, whereas at Montego Bay there 

 are many creatures living in the mud flats. Thus at Tortugas the fish and 

 coral faunae are superior, while at Montego Bay there are more echinoderms, 

 actinians, mollusca, and worms. On the whole, were the Tortugas Labora- 

 tory to be supplemented by a small branch station at Montego Bay which 

 could be open from January until April during the months when the unpro- 

 tected character of the Tortugas reefs render them inaccessible to the col- 

 lector, we would then be able to direct our efforts to the successful study of 

 nearly every biological problem of the West Indian region. Moreover, the 

 deep sea to the northward of Jamaica may be expected to yield important 

 results in the fields of oceanography and biology, supplemented as such 

 studies would be by work within the region of the immediate sources of the 

 Gulf Stream in the Yucatan Channel and off the Tortugas and the Bahama 

 Banks. 



THE BAHAMA EXPEDITION. 



The Director, together with Doctors Paul Bartsch, G. Harold Drew, and 

 T. Wayland Vaughan, spent the month of May upon an expedition to the 

 Bahamas, during which time we cruised 570 miles in the yacht Anton Dohrn. 



In cruising from Miami, Florida, to Golding Cay, Andros Island, we vis- 

 ited Nassau en route in order properly to enter the group, and especially to 

 enjoy the privilege of presenting the letter which the British Ambassador, 

 the Right Honorable James Bryce, had addressed in our behalf to the gover- 

 nor of the Bahamas. 



As in Jamaica, so in the Bahamas, we were received with every courtesy, 

 and His Excellency Sir William Grey- Wilson, K. C. M. G., the governor in 

 council, was so kind as to authorize the receiver general to permit us to 

 import dredges to be used in our scientific work in deep water. 



To the Honorable W. Hart-Bennet, esq., the colonial secretary, to the 

 late Sir James Young, Kt., and to Lenox E. Forsyth, esq., commissioner 

 of Andros Island, it is a pleasure to express our sense of gratitude for many 

 thoughtful and kindly acts which rendered our visit to the Bahamas both 

 scientifically profitable and socially delightful. 



A word may be said respecting our reasons for visiting Golding Cay, 

 Andros Island : For the past five years Dr. T. Wayland Vaughan has been 



