332 ST ANDREWS AND SCIENTIFIC 



the execution of his task.' When the handsome permanent 

 stone buildings erected by the generosity of Dr Charles H. 

 Gatty were opened in 1896 by Lord Reay, in the presence of 

 a distinguished company, including leading scientific men, his 

 lordship said, ' the first laboratory at St Andrews was en- 

 tirely due to his (Professor M'Intosh's) initiation. It is to his 

 persistent efforts that the University of St Andrews owes the 

 existence of an institution which has made its name known 

 and respected in the world of science. We have only to 

 glance at the list of papers published since January 1884,' 

 added his lordship, * to convince ourselves of the splendid 

 results of Professor M'Intosh's unceasing activity.' 



The main object of such a laboratory was to make easy 

 the solution of fishery problems, both marine and fresh water, 

 and the placing of the whole subject of fisheries on a proper 

 scientific footing, thus providing a basis for that wise and 

 beneficial legislation which alone can preserve and improve 

 the condition of the fishing industries. Hatching and develop- 

 ment, and the study of the entire life and growth of most of 

 the British food-fishes, were the first objects aimed at, and 

 a success not surpassed, if indeed equalled, by any other 

 institution of the kind, has resulted. That the great library 

 of the University lies close at hand, has been of invaluable 

 assistance to the station, and has been an advantage which 

 probably no other laboratory in the world possesses. 



(3) The proof that nature in the sea is able to cope even 

 with the reckless destruction of the adult and young fishes 

 by man and other destroyers. The chain of dependence, from 

 the microscopic Diatom up through the ascending inverte- 

 brate scale to the fish, cannot be broken, it must be remem- 

 bered, for the minute buoyant or pelagic nature of the eggs 

 of the most valuable fishes in the sea, and their vast numbers, 

 together with the protection afforded by the extent of the 

 boundless oceanic waters, suffice for their safety. Man may 

 remove the larger forms from a given and limited area by 



