,^, NOTES AND COMMENTS. 83 



and Claerwen, tributaries of the Wye, and to form the main compen- 

 sation reservoir at Caban Coch, just below the junction of the two 

 tributary streams. The sites for these reservoirs are on highly cleaved 

 slates and thick massive grits belonging to the Ordovician or Lower 

 Silurian system. The proposal is, in the first instance, to convey 

 27 million gallons of water daily to Birmingham, but the area will 

 yield much more than that amount if required. The top of the dam of 

 the Caban Coch reservoir would be 820 feet above Ordnance Datum, and 

 the water could be delivered to a distributing reservoir at Frankley, at 

 a height of 600 feet. As Birmingham stands at a high level, near the 

 centre of England, the importance of the gathering ground that has 

 been suggested is manifest. With regard to London, sites for reservoirs 

 might be selected at a lower altitude. 



The question of supplementary supplies for London has been 

 partially considered in connection with the London Water Commis- 

 sion Bill, the Special Report on which was printed in July, 1891. 

 It remains, however, for special and practicable schemes to be 

 considered in detail by a committee of experts, and we understand 

 that a Royal Commission has just been appointed for the discussion 

 of the subject. This includes the well-known names of Sir G. Barclay 

 Bruce, Professor James Dewar, F.R.S., Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S., 

 Mr. George Henry Hill, Mr. James Mansergh, and Dr. William 

 Ogle, F.R.C.P. 



Proposed Marine Biological Station in Jamaica. 



The important results which have accrued from the establish- 

 ment of marine biological stations, like those of Naples and Plymouth, 

 in temperate regions, lead us to hail with pleasure the proposal to 

 found a similar station in the West Indies. The scheme, which is 

 connected with the approaching celebration of the fourth centenary 

 of the discovery of America, has been ably advocated by Lady Blake, 

 wife of the Governor of Jamaica, in a letter to the Times, and has 

 already received cordial support from many of the most eminent men 

 of science in this country, among whom Professor Huxley has 

 emphasised its importance in another communication to the same 

 journal. 



It is proposed that the new establishment shall be called " The 

 Columbus Marine Biological Station," and it is hoped that it will 

 receive support not only from this side of the water, but likewise from 

 our trans- Atlantic cousins. No such station yet exists anywhere 

 within the tropics, and, judging from the accounts which have been 

 given of explorations with the surface-net, and by other means, 

 Jamaica seems to be one of the most favourable localities for such an 

 institution that could possibly be, chosen. As Professor Huxley 

 observes, " Animal life is indescribably abundant and varied in the 

 intertropical seas ; but the mere fringe of it has, as yet, been skimmed 



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