presidext's address. 213 



and of his untiring devotion to it for a period of over thirty years, to 

 justify the remark that the munificent gift of the Gatty Laboratory 

 is a fitting recognition of his labours, upon which he and his ancient 

 university are alike to be congratulated. Investigator, raw student, 

 and collector, have always received the greatest encouragement at 

 his hands, and he has ever given unstintmgly of his rich resources 

 in the advancement of education. 



The Millport Laboratory, now near completion, as I have already 

 remarked, was the cherished ambition of the " Naturalist of the 

 Cumbraes." Having secured its foundation, he lived intent on 

 endowing it from his collections, the richness of which is known 

 only to marine zoologists. Although the hand of death has intervened, 

 we sincerely hope it will not have rendered it impossible in this 

 manner to ensure him a fitting memorial. A commencement has 

 already been made with a suggestive piece of work, in which 

 Robertson himself had a hand,' upon hermaphroditism and the 

 influence of nutrition on sex in the limpet. 



Aberdeen follows in the wake, with the announcement that its 

 Town Council, at the suggestion of Professor Alleyne Nicholson, have, 

 as a wholly provisional arrangement, eq^uipped an old bathing station 

 as a Marine Aquarium. 



Once again has private enterprise, a characteristically English 

 method of procedure in the advancement of Science, come nobly to 

 our aid. And, since even in scientific circles there are not wanting 

 persons apparently unable to distinguish between the claims of a 

 Marine Biological and a Chemical Institute, as concerning choice of 

 locality, it may be opportune to remark that for work in economics 

 which even they desire, involving, as a basis for observation and 

 experiment, the determination of the habits, range, and causes of 

 migration of marine organisms, there is demanded, ar. a first necessity, 

 the girdling of our seas by a series of properly equipped observatories, 

 as a means by which collated investigation should be possible for long 

 periods over wide areas. Our requirements are essentially those of 

 the seismographers, who are raising a similar outcry. It is only now 

 that the possibility of such collective investigation is dawning ; and 

 we note with satisfaction that a biologically first attempt in the 

 desired direction has just been made ~ by the able Director of the 

 Plymouth Marine Station. 



Briefly to consider the year's work of expeditions, as specially 

 affecting our chosen class of animals, there stands foremost for 

 recognition the Report by Messrs. Dautzenberg and H. Fischer 

 on the Deep-sea Fauna dredged by the " Princess Alice " in 

 1889-90, at depths of from 40 to 4,000 metres in the Mediterranean 

 and off the Azores. Of the 153 species of Gastropoda and Chitons 

 recorded, 86 are described as new. 



1 Cf. J. F. Gemmill, Anat. Auz., Bd. xii, p. 392. 



* E. J. Allen, " Distrilmtiou of Marine Plankton": Jonin. Marine Biol. Assoc. 

 (n.s.), vol. iv, p. 408. 



VOL. II.— JULY, 1897. 15 



