123-2 



Journal of Applied Microscopy 



inhabitants. A better object lesson in the matter of protective coloration it would 

 be impossible to find anywhere, the "weed " at first seeming to be uninhabited, 

 but afterwards disclosing no less than twenty-six species to which it gave shelter 

 and protection. On another day we were sailing through countless millions of 

 the little medusa Lincrges mercurius, carefully described and figured by Dr. 

 Fewkes. Here was an excellent chance to become acquainted with the medusa 

 structure. Again, we made a careful dissection of a species of shark which was 

 wonderfully abundant near the Dry Tortugas ; and one day our pilot ran the 

 vessel aground on a sandy bottom thickly strewn with an immense starfish, Fen- 

 taceros reticulatus, which gave us the best possible chance to study the anatomy 

 of the Asteroidea. Still again, we had the unique pleasure of studying fully 

 expanded Millepoi-a. 



The more serious work of the expedition was in the line of dredging in com- 

 paratively deep water. Those who were informed in the science of deep water 

 dredging were, for the most part, inclined to smile quietly, but still significantly, 



REELS FOR SOUNDING LINE. HAND CRAB" USED IN DREDGING. 



at our audacity in undertaking such work without steam either for propelling the 

 vessel or hoisting the dredge. Perhaps it was a case where "fools rush in," etc., 

 but we were nevertheless entirely successful, and probably secured as many inter- 

 esting things from the deep water fauna as any expedition has obtained in the 

 same length of time. 



Our equipment for dredging was, briefly, as follows : 



The power necessary to handle the dredges, trawls, tangles, etc., was fur- 

 nished by a hoisting machine technically known as a " crab," which was a sort 

 of windlass worked by hand, constructed after plans devised by Professor Weld 

 of the University of Iowa. 



It consisted essentially of a horizontal drum fifteen inches in diameter and 

 thirty inches long, resting on a heavy iron frame bolted to the deck. This drum 

 was provided with a single and double purchase for cranks, by which a sufficient 

 power could be applied to meet every demand likely to be made upon the machine. 

 The lowering of the dredge was regulated by a powerful friction brake. Upon 



