MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 31 



to the Chairman and less familiar to myself, though we 

 both served in a Commission on the herring fishery. Those 

 who love science for its own sake will largely promote it by 

 aiding to establish marine laboratories in this country, and 

 those who know science only through its useful applications 

 to man may feel fully confident that any encouragement 

 which they give to this undertaking will be repaid a 

 hundredfold in proximate, if not in immediate, benefits to 

 the human race. 



The Earl op Dalhousie, in supporting the resolution, 

 said that he did so especially in relation to the practical 

 part of the question. Professor Huxley had referred to 

 the wonderful hypotheses of the fishermen on the British 

 coast in regard to the habits and movements of fish. He 

 (the speaker) had been Chairman of a Commission appointed 

 to inquire into certain difficulties between fishermen who 

 used nets and lines, and those who used trawls. He in- 

 formed himself, as far as he could, of all that was practically 

 known in regard to the fish. He devoured a large number 

 of blue-books, &c., and was sorry to say that ignorance with 

 regard to the habits of the fish appeared to be by no means 

 confined to the poor fishermen of the coast. The complaint 

 was, that all along the coast the fish have deserted the 

 inshore districts, and gone to sea — and nobody knew why. 

 If the Americans had been able to bring the cod so far, it 

 ought to be in the power of the Society now about to be 

 formed to devise means of bringing the fish inshore after 

 they had gone out to sea. As a testimony to the great 

 importance which was attached to the foundation of the 

 proposed Society, he might mention that since he had 

 entered this room he had seen present every member of 

 the Government Commission on Trawling, of which he 

 had spoken. 



Professor Flower, F.R.S., P.Z.S., Director of the British 

 Museum (Natural History), also supported the resolution. 

 He quite agreed with the Duke of Argyll that they could 

 hardly complain of the Government when they saw the 

 magnificent manner in which onr national collections of 

 zoology were housed. But before they could exhibit their 



