OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCHES—GRAVIER, 361 
The operations of the Grampus will be continued from year to 
year. They were taken up in November, 1912, by the steamer 
Blue Wing, an auxiliary to the Grampus, during the operations of 
fish culture in the winter season. In 1913, in again taking the meas- 
urements at the stations of 1912, to determine the changes from year 
to year, Bigelow traversed the cold waters between the coast and the 
Gulf Stream from Cape Cod to the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. In 
pursuing their investigations relative to edible fishes the American 
naturalists discovered very extensive beds of scallops (Pecten magel- 
lanicus) along the whole length of the States of New York, New 
Jersey, and Maryland, which promise to be a source of very important 
new fisheries. 
IX. 
Until these later years, aside from the cruises of the Prince of 
Monaco and the local investigations such as those of Pruvot at Ban- 
yuls and of J. Richard in the Bay of Monaco, almost everything 
from an oceanographic standpoint remained to be done in the Medi- 
terranean. But since 1910 the situation has changed entirely. The 
Italians have taken up the work with a remarkable zeal, greatly 
excited by the acquisition of Lybia (Tripoli). The law of July 13, 
1910, modified by that of June 5, 1913, established the ‘‘ Reale Comi- 
tato talassografico italiano.’ Paragraph 1 of article 1 of that law 
thus defines the duties of that committee: ‘‘There is established 
from the ist of July, 1910, the Royal Italian Thalassographic Com- 
mittee, having executive functions to carry on the physico-chemical 
and biological studies of the Italian seas, their special relation to the 
industries of navigation and of fishing, and the exploration of the 
higher atmosphere in its relation to aerial navigation. The com- 
mittee received (1) a contribution from the Government of 60,000 
francs a year: (2) fixed or temporary contributions from other public 
departments, and from private and scientific bodies. It met at 
Naples in 1910, at Rome in 1911, at Genoa in 1912, at Sienna in 1914, 
always on the occasion of the Congress of the Italian Association for 
the Advancement of Science, whose president is at the head of the 
Thalassographic committee. 
Furthermore, the committee felt the necessity of having a central 
institute of marine biology which would permit making, besides inde- 
pendent biological studies, an examination of the material collected 
during the cruises and the distribution of sorted lots to competent 
specialists, to whom recourse must inevitably be had. The place 
chosen is Messina, whose rich plankton has attracted so many natur- 
alists. A first contribution of 100,000 francs has been furnished by 
the Government; the work of construction was begun at the end of 
last January. From the financial appropriation for 1912 to 1913 the 
