" There is hardly an aspect of oceanog- 

 raphy but affects one or another phase 

 of modern civilization; and naturally so, 

 for this science is concerned with the 

 physical and biological economy of some 

 seventy-one per cent of the earth's sur- 

 face . . . The problems of marine bac- 

 teriology center around the roles that 

 bacteria play in keeping in motion the 

 cycle of matter through its organic and 

 inorganic stages in the sea . . . Such 

 glimpses as have been gained of their 

 activities there are enough to show that 

 these must be assayed before we can hope 

 to understand the maintenance of 

 organic fertility in the oceans." — • 

 Henry B. Bigelow, "Oceanography," 

 Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass., 

 pages 167 and 185, 193 1. 



