100 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE 



new premises had not yet been definitely settled, but that be 

 hoped it would be possible to make an announcement at the 

 next Gossip Meeting, which would be held at 20, Hanover Square, 

 on June 24th. After that Gossip Meetings would be held as 

 usual through the summer, on the second and fourth Tuesdays 

 of each month, at a place to be announced, and the next 

 Ordinary Meeting would be held on October 14th. 



The Secretary read a note from Mr. Nelson recording the fact 

 that he had observed differential staining in the flagella of some 

 minute bacteria — one flagellum being blue and one red in the same 

 bacterium. He had also observed the division of the same 

 bacteria, but with great difficulty. A vote of thanks was accorded 

 to Mr. Nelson for his note. 



The President then called on Mr. F. Martin Duncan to give his 

 lecture, entitled " Studies in Marine Zoology." The lecturer 

 apologised for having nothing new to bring before the Club. 

 Marine biological research has been at a stand-still during the war, 

 and the habit of keeping aquaria has almost died out. Mr. Martin 

 Duncan hoped that the study of marine life would be revived. 

 With the aid of lantern slides he then proceeded to describe the 

 boat and some of the collecting apparatus used by the Plymouth 

 Marine Biological station. The boat is broad and by no means 

 luxurious to travel in, as Mr. Duncan's photographs showed. On 

 board are tanks aerated by jets of water, in which the fish and 

 other large captures are stored. Photographs were shown of the 

 winding gear and beam trawl ; the trawl is similar to those used 

 commercially, but smaller. The net is pulled along, and the fish 

 swim into the bag, or " cod end." In commercial trawling the 

 size of the mesh is so small that numbers of immature fish are 

 caught, and 96 to 98 per cent, of these are dead either from the 

 weight of heavier fish pressing on them or from exposure to the 

 air before the useful fish have been sorted out and they are thrown 

 back into the sea. The great wastage which thus takes place can 

 only be stopped by legislature controlling the size of the mesh 

 at the cod-end of the trawl, and this is urgently necessary. 

 Photographs of other collecting nets were shown — a conical 

 dredge and a tow-net with a can at the bottom — in which the 

 catch collects. The lecturer said that they also had nets which 

 could be opened when desired and subsequently closed, so that 

 dredging could be started and finished at any given depth. 



