. MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 245 



Mr. A. K. Jackson, B.Sc, has continued his work on 

 the Spiders of the neighbourhood of Port Erin, and has 

 now drawn up a list of species which has been communi- 

 cated to the Biological Society. 



Mr. Andrew Scott, working chiefly at Piel Island, 

 has made some interesting observations upon the food of 

 young fishes. He finds that young Mullet up to an inch 

 and a little more in length are still feeding entirely upon 

 Diatoms (chiefly Navicula). At a length of one-and-a- 

 half inches they feed on both Diatoms and Copepoda 

 (Tachidius). Young Herring up to three inches long 

 were found feeding on My sis. 



Mr. F. J. Cole has continued throughout the year his 

 preparation of material for his joint research with Prof. 

 Herdman on the process of budding and the formation of 

 colonies in compound Ascidians. He has visited Port Erin 

 about four times during 1898 for the purpose of collecting 

 and preserving old and young colonies of the species 

 commonly known as Amaroucium argus, which, however, 

 is seen b}' its anatomical character to belong to the genus 

 Morchellium. Mr. Cole and Prof. Herdman have also 

 kept various kinds of compound Ascidians alive under 

 observation in the tanks, so as to record the mode of 

 growth and the positions of the new buds in the colony. 

 Before regarding the collection of material as complete, it 

 has been considered advisable to examine colonies at dif- 

 ferent times of the year so that no stage of importance might 

 be omitted. Colonies of Ascidians have therefore been 

 collected from month to month from Easter, 1897, and 

 this will be continued until next April. Owing to the 

 difficulty experienced in satisfactorily staining the pre- 

 parations, the microscopic part of the work is somewhat 

 laborious and takes considerable time. Any detailed 

 statement of results of work would, at the present stage 



