288 The Oceanographical Museum at Monaco 



ascent, it may disappear in the clouds, and its recovery, when 

 it descends at sea, is almost a certainty. This department of 

 investigation lias been prosecuted outside the Mediterranean, 

 and in the Prince's cruises of the last two or three years it has 

 been earned from the Cape Verde Islands in the heart of the 

 tropics to the north of Spitsbergen, within five hundred miles 

 of the Pole. 



Besides the collections of animals and the instruments for 

 their capture and study, there is in the lower part of the 

 museum an aquarium, remarkable for its size and the com- 

 pleteness of its installation. This already commands a constant 

 flux of visitors, chiefly the curious, but it is also frequented by 

 men of science for serious study. It is already proposed to 

 enlarge it considerably. The storey above the aquarium is 

 divided into separate laboratories, fitted with a service of both 

 fresh and sea water, and everything else required for chemical, 

 physical, and biological study. In these laboratories the 

 occupant has all that a laboratory can supply, and at any time 

 fresh material from the sea, collected by one of the small steam 

 tenders of the museum. 



Any notice of the museum of Monaco would be incomplete 

 without an acknowledgment of what it owes to its director, 

 Dr Richard. None of the many men of science who have 

 enjoyed the hospitality, either of the museum or the yacht, 

 will require to be reminded of this, nor will they forget what 

 they individually owe to Dr Richard's never-failing courtesy 

 and helpful aid. Personally, I have more thanks to offer than 

 I can express for the countless services that he has rendered 

 me during our friendship of twenty years. The Prince was 

 fortunate in being able to attach him to his service in the 

 early days of the "Hirondelle." Since that time Dr Richard 

 has been his never-failing aid and assistant. It is not too 

 much to say that without Dr Richard's strenuous and unselfish 

 work during these many years the museum with its rich 

 collections and complete equipment would not be, as it is 

 now, the greatest institution of the kind in the world. 



