A HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



and in far greater measure than could at first be 

 hoped for. 



And from that day till this Naples has been the centre 

 of that branch of biological inquiry which has for its 

 object the investigation of problems best studied with 

 material gathered from the sea. And this, let me hast- 

 en to add, includes far more than a mere study of the 

 life histories of marine animals and plants as such. 

 It includes problems of cell activity, problems of hered- 

 ity, life problems of many kinds, having far wider 

 horizons than the mere question as to how a certain 

 fish or crustacean lives and moves and has its being. 



Dr. Dohrn's chief technical associates are all Ger- 

 mans, like their leader, but, like him also, all gifted with 

 a polyglot mastery of tongues that has stood them in 

 good stead in their intercourse with the biologists of 

 many nationalities who came to work at the laboratory. 

 I must not pause to dwell upon the personnel of the 

 staff in general, but there is one other member who 

 cannot be overlooked even in the most casual survey 

 of the work of the institution. One might almost as 

 well forget Dr. Dohrn himself as to overlook Signer Lo 

 Bianco, chief of the collecting department. Signor 

 Bianco it is who, having expert knowledge of the 

 haunts and habits of every manner of marine creature, 

 can direct his fishermen where to find and how to se- 

 cure whatever rare specimen any worker at the labora- 

 tory may desire. He it is, too, who, by studying old 

 methods and inventing new ones, has learned how to 

 preserve the delicate forms for subsequent study in life- 

 like ensemble that no one else can quite equal. Signor 

 Bianco it is, in short, who is the indispensable right- 



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