[BERKELEY] MARINE BACTERIA 17 



near open sea conditions for preliminary experiment and was the 

 farthest point accessible from the Marine Biological Station at De- 

 parture Bay in the short time at my disposal. Dr. C. McLean 

 Fraser, the director of the station, very kindly took me out in the 

 station launch to secure the material and placed his apparatus for 

 collecting samples of water at fixed depths (the Peterson-Nansen 

 deep-sea water bottle) at my disposal. Samples were taken at the 

 surface and at depths of 20 and 100 fathoms. The temperature of 

 the water at the surface was 16-6°C, at 20 fathoms 9-45°C and at 

 100 fathoms 7-42°C. 



There is considerable difficulty in taking samples of water below 

 the surface under sterile, and otherwise reliable conditions. Drew 

 (loc. cit.) discusses this fully and describes an apparatus used by 

 him specially designed for the purpose, the chief features of which 

 are that the samples are taken in glass vessels which can be sterilized 

 and sent down full of alcohol which is discharged only when the 

 required depth is reached. The results obtained from my own samples 

 taken at 20 and 100 fathoms are open to the criticism that they were 

 taken in a vessel which could not be sterilized and which was made of 

 metal. The container was washed as thoroughly as possible before 

 use and, for the rest, reliance was placed on the vigorous flow of water 

 through the vessel during its descent to ensure that the sample secured 

 really represented iDacteriologically the depth reached. The metallic 

 container is objectionable because of the bactericidal action which 

 practically all metals are known to possess, but no quantitative 

 determinations were attempted and any positive qualitative results 

 obtained from the samples are free from objection from this stand- 

 point. The samples were transferred to glass bottles, which had been 

 washed out with a saturated solution of corrosive sublimate and were 

 thoroughly rinsed with the water being collected, immediately on 

 reaching the surface and were kept as cool as possible during transfer- 

 ence to the laboratory. The surface sample was taken in a "Thermos" 

 bottle which had been thoroughly washed out with saturated corrosive 

 sublimate solution and was kept full of the solution for several days 

 before use. The antiseptic was poured out and the bottle thoroughly 

 washed with the water being sampled before use. The neck of the 

 bottle was held a few inches below the surface and the cork replaced 

 under water. The object of using a "Thermos" bottle was to keep 

 the water at as nearly as possible its original temperature until reaching 

 the laboratory. 



During the taking of the samples, and subsequently all the way 

 back to Vancouver until the inflow of the Fraser river made the water 



