1893.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 291 



EDITORIAL. 



Deep-Sea Diatomaceae. — "All departments of Natural 

 Science are afflicted with a host of unwarranted names, and 

 none more so than that of the Diatomaceae, where at least 20 

 per cent of the generic and specific names are fictitious." So 

 says Rev. Albert Mann in a report made to the United States 

 National Museum on some dredgings made in the Atlantic Ocean 

 off Delaware Bay by the U. S. Fish Commission Steamer Alba- 

 tross. 



He found in the matter dredged up from a depth of 813 

 fathoms, 145 species of marine and fresh-water diatoms. He 

 is of opinion that most of these forms were drifted down the Del- 

 aware River, though a few probably came in the Gulf Stream 

 from the tropics. 



There being already 20 per cent more names than diatoms, 

 Mr. Mann has refrained from making any more new names. 

 Any one who is interested in seeing the list of names of species 

 found by him can consult Proc. Nat. Mus. XVI, 1893, pp. 303- 

 312. 



This dredging of diatoms was procured by the Albatross 

 at a cost of many thousand dollars generously appropriated by 

 Congress for the benefit of the Fisheries. These diatoms were 

 or might have been food for fishes. If Mr. Mann instead of 

 spending a large amount of time and labor in identifying these 

 diatoms, had been able to tell us how to multiply indefinitely 

 their numbers he would have contributed an economic fact 

 which eventually might become a factor in improving the fish- 

 eries. 



Of course, the government did not pay him for doing so, 

 and his study was a voluntary one. If, however, the fishermen 

 are ever to be benefited by the thousands of dollars consumed 

 by the Albatross in dredging the Atlantic for three years, peo- 

 ple must be found to do some of these practical things. The 

 French are experimenting along this line and Dr. Samuel Lock- 

 wood of Freehold, N. .J., is interested in this matter as will be 

 seen from his paper published in this number of the Journal. 



But the great question in fish-culture is how to supply a pro- 

 per kind of food to the fish when just hatched and sent forth to 

 struggle with a hostile environment. 



