iv Preface. 



Biological Station near Christiania, in Southern Norway, receiving 

 instructions from Professor Hjortli as to the proper methods of the 

 capture and preservation of marine Invertebrata, Algm, &c. His 

 death in October, 1899, was a great loss to the expedition, as it was 

 to Science generally, for, either from want of knowledge or want of 

 care on the part of the survivors, his collections suffered consider- 

 ably, especially in the case of the Invertebrata, as will be seen from 

 the reports of the various specialists who have described them. 

 The Seals, of which there was a large series, were sent home in 

 brine, but the tubs in which they were packed were not labelled in 

 any way, and only a few specimens had leaden tickets attached to 

 them. These had unfortunately become so corroded from immersion 

 in the brine as to be, in nearly every case, undecipherable, and no 

 list of the collection of Seals was forthcoming. The memoir on the 

 White Seal, which Mr. Hanson prepared, and which would un- 

 doubtedly have added much to our knowledge of this animal, was, 

 I am informed, lost by some mischance on the voyage home. It is, 

 therefore, to be regretted that the work will have to be done again 

 by the naturalists on board the 'Discovery' and other expeditions 

 which may visit " Antarctica " in the future. 



Sir George Newnes has presented to the National Museum the 

 first set of all the specimens collected, and by his directions I have 

 distributed the duplicates to various Museums and Public Institu- 

 tions in Great Britain and abroad, so that many of these have been 

 enriched by his generosity. There were very few duplicate bird- 

 skins, but the collection of eggs, mostly preserved by Mr. Hugh 

 Evans, was a fine one. A good many duplicate fishes remained, and 

 these have been given to Museums where they were likely to be 

 useful for study. Of the Invertebrata there were not many to 

 distribute. The second set has been sent to Professor Collett for the 

 Christiania Museum, in acknowledgment of the assistance rendered 

 by him in promoting the objects of the expedition, and in considera- 

 tion of the nationality of the commander. 



The task of preparing for publication the various memoirs on the 

 different classes of Vertebrata was assigned by me to Dr. Bowdler 

 Sharpe, and the Invertebrata have been edited by Professor 

 Jeffrey Bell. 



