" Whats the good dt ? " 339 



It was under the auspices of the Scottish Meteoro- 

 logical Society and the efficient supervision of Dr. 

 Murray, of the Challenger, that the Marine Biological 

 station at Granton, Edinburgh, had been opened in 

 1884. 



The Medusa was a small steam yacht, specially 

 equipped for marine research, and the Ark, originally 

 moored in the inundated Granton Quarry, was a 

 barge converted to the purposes of a small floating 

 laboratory. 



The Medusa had to be taken to Glasgow for re- 

 pairs, and this opportunity was made use of to in- 

 vestigate the lower part of the Clyde off the coast 

 of Arran. The sensation produced by the appear- 

 ance of the Medusa in Lamlash Bay has been thus 

 described : 



" There was one worthy butcher from Ayrshire who 

 was specially interested. ' She'll be a pleasure-boat, 

 yon thing ? ' he asked. ' No,' was the answer ; ' she's 

 bound on a scientific cruise.' ' Ay, an' what may they 

 do on board o' her ? ' was the next query so an 

 elaborate explanation was given of how creatures are 

 hauled up from the bottom of the sea, and preserved 

 in spirit in order to be fully studied. The butcher 

 evidently thought it a silly waste of liquor, and 

 meditated long. * But what's the good o't ? ' said he. 

 A question not easily answered. Faraday once said 

 in a similar case, ' What's the good of a baby ? No 

 one knows what it may grow to.' So the possible 

 bearing of dredging on the discovery of the habits of 

 food-fishes and the improvement of fishing industries 

 was brought forward. ' I can understand that, quoth 



