American Fisheries Society 255 



ing everything, I did not secure one that was satisfactory; 

 •and I doubt if there has ever been taken a really satisfactory 

 submarine photograph. 



My work in this line was highly interesting, very instruc- 

 tive, and, to be honest, very expensive, when measured in 

 tangible results. The physical limitations are such that I 

 doubt if this class of photography will ever become more 

 than a spectacular achievement, the results of which will 

 have but little real scientific value. In the first place the 

 turbidity of the clearest water is such that any object beyond 

 ten or a dozen feet from the camera is beyond the range of 

 sharp definition, even though the object be fixed, while 

 moving plants and animals are little more than blurred 

 outlines. In the second place, the animals of the ocean are 

 very shy and retiring, and it is slow and unprofitable labor 

 trying to coax them, with some such dainty morsel as 

 crushed shellfish or sea urchin as decoy, to come out of 

 hiding and sit for their pictures, leaving out of account the 

 trouble it takes to make the sitter smile and look pleasant 

 while the exposure is being made. 



A third difficulty is that the light at moderate depth is 

 materially reduced. Even on clear, still days, under favor- 

 able conditions, it is difficult to secure enough light to admit 

 making of short, not to mention instantaneous, exposures. 

 Nevertheless my experiments on the reef at Honolulu were 

 temporarily abandoned, not from discouragement with the 

 work or the results secured, but from a conviction that I 

 knew how to build a better type of submarine camera than 

 the one I was using. The building of it, however, would 

 necessitate considerable expense, including, among other 

 tilings, the purchasing of a new specially equipped grafflex 

 camera. 



There is here shown (slide) a drawing of the plan on 

 which the new camera would be constructed. A water- 

 glass caison of suitable length and diameter would be made 

 of galvanized sheet metal, substantially as indicated by the 

 diagram. In the lower end a mirror would be placed at an 



