460 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



work on so grand a scale and with such immense effect. The 

 results obtained each year reflect the highest credit on the man- 

 agement of the work and on the development of the vast field of 

 economical interests charged to its care. The presence of such 

 a powerful plant as this at Woods Holl adds very materially to 

 the advantages of the situation. 



The fact remains, however — and this is now conceded on all 

 sides — that a marine biological observatory, devoted exclusive- 

 ly to research, must be independent of any control or interfer- 

 ence on the part of the General Government, and rest on an 

 endowment furnished by private initiative. This point has been 

 strongly urged by Huxley, Carl Vogt, Herbert Spencer, and many 

 others, and it may be put down as a settled fact. Of course, it 

 does not follow that such an observatory may not receive support 

 from the Government. Such support is, in fact, as important as 

 it is fitting, as has been seen in the history of the station at 

 Naples. The essential thing is that the observatory have an in- 

 dependent organization, and be able to direct its work to the ends 

 of science, regardless of whether they coincide with those pur- 

 sued by a commission of fish and fisheries. Although all biologi- 

 cal investigation may, in fact must, minister directly or indirectly 

 to the higher interests of humanity, its course must not be domi- 

 nated or handicapped by utilitarian considerations. As I have 

 said on another occasion : " A biological station should be a 

 purely scientific affair from beginning to end. It should have 

 no other aim than to advance science, and its whole organization 

 should be directed to this one great end. We are urged by every 

 consideration of the present, and every regard for the future of 

 biological science in America, to keep this object steadily in view, 

 and to allow nothing to block the way to its attainment " (first 

 Report). Our course at Woods Holl in providing for instruc- 

 tion, as I hope time will demonstrate, is consistent with the end 

 we are seeking. 



The history of efforts to make Woods Holl a center for marine 

 research, and the location there of the National Fish Commission, 

 with resources that make it an ally of the greatest importance, 

 are so much in favor of the place. Woods Holl is not, of course, 

 the only available locality for our purpose, but it offers many 

 natural advantages, and every summer's work has strengthened 

 the conviction that we have been fortunate in our choice of posi- 

 tion. Our experience simply confirms the opinion of the late 

 Prof. Baird, that Woods Holl is the place of all the places on our 

 coast for a marine station. It is easily reached by rail or by boat 

 from New York, Boston, Providence, Fall River, or New Bedford. 

 With Vineyard Sound in front, Buzzard's Bay behind, the beauti- 

 ful Elizabeth Islands extending to the southwest, Martha's Vine- 



