140 FOUNDERS OF OCEANOGRAPHY 



worked so well for nearly fifty years and which has given 

 a certain stamp and tradition to some at least of the tables. 



The opportunities for taking part in collecting expeditions 

 at sea are most valuable to the young naturalist, and especi- 

 ally to such as have not had previous experience of the rich 

 Mediterranean fauna. Dredging, " plankton " collection and 

 fishing are carried on daily in the Bay of Naples by means of 

 the two little steamers (the " Johannes Miiller " and the 

 " Francis Balfour " — both classic names in biology) belong- 

 ing to the station, and by a flotilla of fishing and other smaller 

 boats which start for work in the very early morning and 

 return laden with treasure in time to supply the workers in 

 the laboratory for the day. Many of the Neapolitan fisher- 

 men are more or less in the employ of the station and bring to 

 the laboratory such rare specimens as they may chance to 

 find in their day's work. 



The late Dr. S. Lo Bianco, for many years the genial chief 

 of the collecting and preserving department, had a pheno- 

 menal knowledge of the marine fauna, and of where, when 

 and how to catch any particular thing — and, moreover, of 

 how best to preserve it when caught. Each afternoon he 

 visited the laboratories and ascertained the wants of the 

 workers, each night he gave his orders to his crews of fisher- 

 men, with various hints as to likely haunts and the best 

 tactics to pursue ; and the following morning sees a proces- 

 sion of tubs and baskets filled with glass jars, containing the 

 specimens rich and rare, being conveyed from the little dock 

 to the laboratory — generally balanced in wonderful piles on 

 the heads of the stalwart and picturesque boatmen. Dredg- 

 ing expeditions during the day along the shores or to the 

 neighbouring bay of Pozzuoli take place in the steam launch, 

 and workers who wish to search for some special animal or 

 who are studying the fauna can join such trips. Then about 

 once a fortnight or so a longer excursion is organized, say to 

 Ischia or to Capri, occupying the whole day, and to this aU 

 in the laboratory who care for it are invited. It was on these 



