A MARINE UNIVERSITY. ()1>7 



tide currents whicli sweep in throiio-h the ''hole" brino- in nniltitude.s 

 of floating animals and plants, nian}^ of which are tropical forms, car- 

 ried in from the Gulf Stream, which is distant only about 100 miles. 

 The proximity of the Gulf Stream to this portion of the New P^no-land 

 coast gives a laljoratory located at this point numy of the advantages 

 of a tropical station without any of the accompanying disadvantages. 

 There are also many fresh-w\ater ponds and lakes in the vicinity which 

 contain a rich fauna and flora. 



In these ideal collecting grounds the trained investigator naturally 

 flnds abundant and widely var^'ing material, and the beginner in zool- 

 ogy, during the frequent excursions which form so prominent a 

 feature of the instruction, sees something under natural conditions 

 of the teeming life of the shore and of shallow water, of the delicate 

 fauna foiuid on spiles and floating timl)ers, and of the products of 

 the dredge and drag net. It is under such circumstances that one enthu- 

 siastically realizes the meanings of various structures mad(> out in the 

 dissecting pan in the laboratory, and the nicety of the adaptations of 

 each animal to the conditions under which it lives. Much of the col- 

 lecting is carried on in the steam launch Sagttta, suggestively named 

 after a swift-swimming marine worm of ai'row-like shape. 



The naturalist and the student are also fortunate in th(^ material 

 and educational equipments of the la])orator3'. It is true that in con- 

 trast with the beautiful Renaissance building at Naples our gra^'- 

 shingled laboratory buildings seem somewhat barn-like externally. 

 However, this is not incompatible with the true scientiflc spirit of 

 "plain living and high thinking." Certainly the very best e(|uipment 

 and facilities that ingenuity, stimulated by necessity, can provide is 

 most generousl}^ devoted to the advancement of science. Fifty private 

 rooms, for example, are reserved each year for independent investiga- 

 tors, and these are free of expense. 



Under the heading "equipment" one should l>riefly touch upon the 

 department of supply, the museum, and the library, and especially 

 upon some of the various courses of instruction. 



The department of supply was established in order to make accessi- 

 ble to teachers and others at a distance, who desire to obtain material 

 for study or class work, the products of the teeming colle(;ting grounds 

 at ^^'oods Hole. All the types generally used in both zoological and 

 botanical instruction, such as algjr, sponges, h} droids, starflshcs, sea 

 urchins, marine worms, crustaceans, mollusks, smaller marine verte- 

 brates, etc., as well as mounted sets of seaweeds, are kept in stock. 

 A special laboratory for this departnuMit, supplied with salt and fresh 

 water for aquaria, has been prepared, and a curator appointed to keep 

 the department open throughout the year. The department is also 

 securing materials for the museum, illustrating the fauna and flora of 

 the surrounding waters and ('ountiy. There is a rapidly growing col- 

 lection of dissections largely prepared hj the classes in zoology, 



