﻿86 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. ^8 



The two original colonies of Cerions, namely, Cerion viarcgis and 

 Cerion casablancae , are simply swarming in their respective places and 

 gradually spreading over adjacent territory. 



The colony of Cerion uva from Curacoa is gradually passing out, 

 but it was a surprise to find that the colony of Cerion crassilahrc, 

 which was in bad shape a year ago, was not at all on the verge of 

 extinction, but yielded sufficient material to give complete measure- 

 ments of all the characters of enough specimens to complete the 

 hundred series of both the first and second generations of Florida- 

 grown individuals. This again shows that it is not safe to estimate 

 the strength of a colony merely from the appearance of material 

 above the surface of the sand, for Cerions vmder certain conditions 

 have a way of disappearing beneath the surface and thus hiding 

 themselves from view. 



The huge colony of Cerions, brought from the Island of San 

 Salvador and planted on the east side of the laboratory, does not 

 appear to have found the habitat a suitable one, for there is an 

 endless number of dead strewn about the ground, but not a single 

 living specimen was seen. 



The colonies planted on the rampart of Fort Jeft'erson 2 years 

 ago are holding their own. 



On the way north, September 21, a stop was made at Boca Grande 

 Key where it was found that the part of the key bearing the plantings 

 was again burnt over, and the same fate has overtaken the colonies 

 which had been planted on Man Key, Boy Key, Woman Key, and 

 Girl Key. 



On September 22 a visit to the two plantings in the grounds of 

 the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Station at Key West showed both colo- 

 nies doing fairly well. 



On September 22, the Anton Dolirn was left at Newfound Harbor 

 Key, and a visit made to the keys containing Cerion colonies between 

 Key West and Miami. The hybrid colony on Newfound Harbor 

 Key was doing splendidly. The last hurricane had not seriously 

 damaged it. Some additional variant specimens were taken to Wash- 

 ington for dissections. This colony, as well as experiences on other 

 islands, shows plainly the desirability of placing colonies not on un- 

 occupied keys but, if possible, to select ground for them near some 

 house where the people will take an interest in the experiment and 

 see that the ground is protected against fire. 



Bahia Honda, where the colony of Cerion casablancae was placed in 

 191 2, was next visited. The hurricane some years later had cut the 

 ground, where the original colony was planted, to such an extent 



