222 



TKANSAOTIONS OF THE 



[1892 



but found, at this particular time, only dense growths of 

 algse attached to a depth of five feet. The buoys which 

 I examined, however, were comparatively new, and pos- 

 sibly the colonies had not had sufficient time to become 

 established. Doubtless they will be found upon the older 

 buoys, especially those farther down the river. 



Early in July last I conducted an excursion for the 

 classes in biology at the Woman's College of Baltimore 

 to Fair Yiew, at the mouth of Rock Creek and near the 

 mouth of the Patapsco, Here I hoped to show them 

 the habitat of this our most accessible tubularian hydroid. 

 Through the courtesy of Professor Uhler, I had previously 

 visited this point, and thought it highly probable that we 

 should find the colonies there, and the first dip of the hand 

 dredge fully justified our expectation. 



We then concluded that the colonies probably existed 

 at Fort Carroll, and directed our next excursion to this 

 point. As anticipated, we found them here also, and they 

 proved to be the finest growths that I have yet seen. The 

 granite foundation of the pier, as well as the wooden piles 

 of the dock, were thickly covered by the colonies at every 

 point examined. On many of the piles they were found 

 even at a height of six inches or more above the low water 

 level of that day. The growths thus exposed to the atmos- 

 phere Avere kept constantly saturated with water by an 

 occasional wave which rose high enough to drench them. 

 They were found well developed at points most directly 

 exposed to the waves, which, during high and prolonged 

 easterly winds, beat against the fort with surprising vio- 

 lence. The most luxuriant growths, however, were found 

 upon the piles far beneath the wooden dock in places 

 somewhat protected from the waves. 



Here we also made an observation bearing on the verti- 

 cal distribution of the colonies. With the hand dredge I 

 gathered them from the foundation of the pier from a 



