1897. NOTES AND COMMENTS. 365 



The Illinois Fresh-water Biological Station. 



The sound practical work being done in the United States in 

 fresh-water biology has been alluded to more than once in these 

 pages, and now we have still further evidence of the activity displayed 

 in this direction in the shape of the Biennial Report of the Biological 

 Experiment Station of the Illinois University, and a batch of papers 

 giving some of the results obtained since the establishment of the 

 Station in April, 1894. It may be pointed out in passing that a 

 particular interest attaches to the work of this station, since it is situated 

 in a district, at Havana on the Illinois River, having, on a larger 

 scale to be sure, several features in common with our own ' Broads ' 

 country, and the experience gained in America should be carefully 

 considered by all those interested in the proposal to found a fresh- 

 water biological station in East Anglia. 



Much of the work so far undertaken at Havana has necessarily 

 been of a preliminary nature, being more especially directed to a 

 determination of the local aquatic fauna. The results obtained, 

 however, even if falling short of the ultimate ideals cherished by the 

 energetic director, Professor S. A. Forbes, are by no means to be 

 despised, and constitute in themselves really valuable contributions to 

 science. Mr. C. A. Hart's paper on the Entomology of the Illinois 

 River and adjacent waters, for example (referred to in Natural 

 Science, vol. viii., p. 228, April, 1896) is an exceedingly useful piece of 

 work in a much neglected field, and those whose appetites have been 

 whetted by a perusal of Professor Miall's delightful book, " The 

 Natural History of Aquatic Insects," will find in Mr. Hart's work 

 much additional information, including keys to the genera of aquatic 

 insect larvae. Other published papers deal with Protozoa and Rotifera, 

 with oligochaete worms, with parasitic Hymenoptera, and with 

 Ostracoda, while many others are in preparation. 



Besides these faunistic studies, an excellent beginning has also 

 been made with the extensive problems of the inter-relations of the 

 different organisms to one another and to the environment. A regular 

 system of collecting at a number of carefully selected sub-stations has 

 been maintained without intermission since the opening of the station. 

 It will give some idea perhaps of the thoroughgoing nature of this 

 work when it is stated that of quantitative plankton collections alone 

 about a thousand have already been taken, while the total number of 

 collections, including insects, exceeds 12,000. When this rich accumu- 

 lation of material shall have been worked out (and a large part of the 

 work has already been accomplished), we may expect to be put in 

 possession of the finest mass of data concerning the distribution and 

 periodicity of fresh-water organisms ever brought together. 



" Pump Plankton." 



The only article yet issued on the plankton work of the Illinois 

 Biological Station, is an introductory one by Dr. Kofoid, the station 



