nutrient salts of the sea-water near the laboratories. A study of -the 

 shell secreting organs of the serpulid worms has just been completed 

 and currently he is engaged in a statistical investigation of the relation- 

 ship of growth indices to environmental factors for several species of clams. 



Dr. Erling J. Ordal, Associate Professor of Microbiology, is working 

 on (1) the morphology and physiology of bacteria occurring on marine 

 plants and animals, and (2) bacteria which cause disease in fishes, particu- 

 larly salmonoid fishes. 



The School of Fisheries of the University of Washington has under 

 construction on the Seattle campus a large fisheries laboratory, the 

 site of which is immediately adjacent to that of the Oceariographic 

 Laboratories. Thus located, considerable exchange of information is 

 anticipated with Dr. Richard van Cleve, the Acting Director, and 

 Dr. A. C. DeLacy, representative of the School of Fisheries on the 

 oceanographic staff. 



The Library of the LTniversity of Washington is among the larger 

 libraries of the United States. Through its inter-library loan service 

 any volume or journal is readily obtainable. It also maintains a branch 

 library at Friday Harbour which is housed in a special building. 



The publications of the Oceanographic Laboratories comprise the 

 Publications in Oceanography in which longer or more detailed articles 

 appear, and the Reprint Series. It is the policy of the laboratories to 

 encourage as much as possible publication of the results of oceanographic 

 research in the standard scientific national journals. A large numbei: 

 of reprints of articles so appearing are purchased for the Reprint Series 

 and used for inter-library exchange. 



Summary of Discussion 



A short discussion followed, in which Dr. Deacon asked whether 

 it was true that a commercial process was available for the extraction of 

 potassium, from sea-water. Dr. Thomson replied that one project was 

 under way in the United States, but that he had no information as yet 

 as to actual results. 



OCEANOGRAPHIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF MARINE 



BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES ON THE PACIFIC 



COAST OF NORTH AMERICA 



B}' Robert C. Miller, Cahfornia Acaderny of Sciences, San FranciscO' 



The investigation of the sea is a difficult and expensive undertaking. 

 Only a few institutions can afford to maintain a research vessel of 

 sufficient size to carry on work for weeks or months in the open sea. It 

 is to be hoped that the number of such institutions may be increased 

 and the funds available to them augmented. In the meantime, however, 

 it is desirable to emphasize the role in marine inves{igations of seaside 

 laboratories not equipped for full-scale oceanographic work. 



The marine biological laboratories, often housed in modest quarters 

 and nearly alwa3^s with inadequate funds, have made a large number 

 of .significant contributions to our knowledge of the sea, and several of 

 them have in the course of time developed into laboratories devoted 

 primarily to oceanographic research. 



168 



