THE I'KAKL FISIIKKIKS (»K CKVION. 4UH 



we liopc lha( it may result not^ iiicivly in a larj^c rcvonuo from pearls," 

 but also ill considcrahlc additions to our scientific knowledge of the 

 oysters. 



As an incident of our work in Ceylon, it was found necessary to 

 fit up the scientific man's workshop — a small laboratory on the edge 

 of the sea — with experimental tanks, a circulation of sea water, and 

 facilities for microscopic and other work. For several reasons, as 

 was mentioned above, we chose Galle, at the southern end of Ceylon, 

 and we have every reason to be satisfied with the choice. With its 

 large bay. its rich fauna, and th? sheltered collecting ground of the 

 lagoon within the coral reef it is probably one of the best possible 

 spots for the naturalist's work in eastern tropical seas. 



In the interests of science it is to be hoped, then, that the marine 

 laboratory at Galle will soon be establisluMl on a permanent basis, 

 with a suitable equii)ment. It ought, moreover, to be of suflicient 

 size to accommodate two or three additional zoologists, such as 

 members of the staff of the museum and of the medical college at 

 Colombo or scientific visitors from P]uroj)e. The work of such men 

 would help in the investigation of the marine fauna and in the eluci- 

 dation of practical problems, and the laboratory would soon become 

 a credit and an attraction to the colony. Such an institution at 

 Galle would be known throughout the scientific world, and would 

 be visited by many students of science, and it might reasonably be 

 hoped that in time it Avould perform for the marine biology and the 

 fishing industries of Ceylon very much the same important functions 

 as those fulfilled by the celebrated gardens and laboratory at Pera- 

 deniya for the botany and associated economic problems of the land. 



a It was a most successful fisliery. A still lar,i;cer one, bringing in over a mil- 

 lion i-ui)ees to the (iovernmcnt, was held in 1!>04. and there are now excellent 

 liros[)ects for an iniiiortant fishery in the spring of 1U05. — W. A. H., .January, 

 1905. 



