MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 183 



October last, when some mud taken near the breakwater 

 was found to swarm with Laophonte lamellifera. The 

 rocky pools about Port St. Mary, too, have yielded good 

 results." 



Dr. George W. Chaster, of Southport, who has under- 

 taken to report upon the Foraminifera of the district, 

 writes to me : — 



" There is one aspect of the work in this group I should 

 like to enter upon. Foraminifera are so enormously 

 abundant, and multiply so rapidly, that they must afford 

 an important food supply to some other animals. I only 

 know of one group of Mollusca — the Scaphopoda — which 

 subsist solely, or almost so, on Foraminifera. There 

 must be many other consumers, and I propose to examine 

 stomachs of various other animals that seem likely. I 

 shall be pleased to examine consignments of stomach- 

 contents which have a gritty feel, if sent to me, with full 

 data. Fish stomachs should yield good results. The 

 reproduction of Foraminifera is also a matter requiring 

 further investigation." 



Professors Boyce and Herdman still continue their 

 work on the bacteriology and other diseased conditions of 

 Oysters. In the report of the " Oyster " Committee to the 

 British Association Meeting at Toronto last September, it 

 was shown that there are considerable quantities of copper 

 in certain green leucocytes found in a diseased condition of 

 the American Oyster. The Oysters in this state are always 

 more or less green, and the colour is due to the presence 

 of a compound of copper. The amount of copper is far 

 in excess of what can be accounted for as due to hsemo- 

 cyanin, and it may be explained as due to a disturbed 

 metabolism, whereby the normal copper of the body 

 becomes stored up in certain cells. The cause of this 

 diseased condition is still undetermined. 



