MARIXE BIOLOGICAL STATIOXS OF KLROPE. 227 



fringe of pink coral, flowering out in yellow star-like polyps. 

 There may again be a host of ascidians, delicate, transparent, 

 solitary forms, the lanky Ciona, the brilliantly crimson Cynthia 

 and huge masses of varied, compound forms. Swimming in 

 the water may be chains of Salpa and occasionally a number 

 of Amphioxus, the latter, as they from time to time emerge 

 from the sandy bottom, flurry about as if with sudden fright, 

 quickly to disappear. Variety is one of the striking characters 

 of neighboring tanks. In one, brilliant forms will outvie the 

 colors of their neighbors ; in another, the least obtrusive 

 mimicry will be exemplified. The stranger has often to examine 

 carefully before, in the seemingly empty tank, he can determine 

 on every side the living forms whose color characters screen 

 them effectively. Thus he will see sand-colored rays and 

 flounders, the upturned eyes of the curious star-gazer almost 

 buried in the sand, a series of mottled crustaceans wedged in 

 a rocky background, an occasional crab wandering cautiously 

 about, carrying a protective garden of seaweeds on his broad 

 back ; odd sea horses posing motionless mimicing the rough 

 stems of the seaweeds. In the larger tank sea turtles float 

 sluggishly about ; and coiled amid broken earthern jars are 

 the sharp-jawed murr^'s, suggestive of Roman dinners and of 

 the cultural experiments of Pollio. Aeration in the aquaria 

 is secured effectively by streams of air which are forced in at 

 the water surface and subdivide into bright clouds of minute 

 silvery bubbles. The tanks are cared for from the rear passage- 

 ways ; attendants are never seen by visitors, and constant 

 attention has given the aquaria a well earned reputation. Well 

 illustrated catalogues in French, German, English and Italian 

 enable the stranger to better appreciate the aquarium. 



To the remainder of the building strangers are not admitted. 

 A marble stairway leads from the door of the aquarium to a 

 loggia which opens into the territory of the students. A long 

 pathway of grating extends across the open center of the 

 building,— whose skylight top admits the light to the aquarium 

 below. On the one hand is the main laboratory room, on 

 the other the library and separate rooms intended for more 

 fortunate investigators. One enters the main laboratory, passes 



