70 General Conclusions. 



than the position of the Bishop Museum demands. It was impos- 

 sible to examine the Natural Histor}' colledlious thoroughly for 

 specimens from the Pacific: that would be a work of many months. 

 London and Paris have the largest lot of Polynesian plants, although 

 Cambridge (Massachusetts) has a large number of species. Berlin 

 and other museums probably lead in Ornithology, while the marine 

 species are tolerably distributed among the principal museums of 

 America. Corals abound in the British Museum and in the Museum 

 of Comparative Anatomy (Agassiz) at Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



Another important objecft of this journey was an examina- 

 tion into the feasibility of establishing a Marine Zoological Station 

 here as a branch of the work of this Museum. Of the advantages 

 of such an institution to science and to this country nothing need 

 be said. Of the desirability of such a Station to the Museum it 

 may be said that without it the latter institution would require a 

 ver}- large outlay for colledling the Hawaiian Marine Fauna, with- 

 out considering the expense of preserving and exhibiting, and the 

 salaries of experts to determine the species collecfted. Another 

 large building would be required as well as considerable accommo- 

 dation near the shore. The proposed Station or Laboratory would 

 do all this besides relieving the museum of some of its present col- 

 lecftions, thus giving additional shelf space. The possibility of its 

 establishment depends wholly on the amount of mone}- that is avail- 

 able for the purpose. This country is remarkabl}' rich in marine 

 life, the climate is admirable, the site accessible to the world. 

 Lines of steamships could bring to our tanks marine life from the 

 East Indies, China, Japan, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico 

 and Central America, without passing through a cold climate. 

 Instead of exciting jealousy on the part of older establishments, 

 the proje(5t meets warm encouragement and approbation from all 

 whose encouragement and approval are most worth. 



Plans have been prepared, which will in due time be sub- 

 mitted to the Trustees, for a large and imposing building of stone 

 to contain a tank-room with fourteen tanks for the public exhibi- 

 tion of marine life, the growth of corals, etc.: a museum room to 

 contain the preparations to illustrate marine life in the Tropics: a 

 spacious hall between these wings for smaller, fresh water tanks, 

 ferns and plants, and to be used as a general resting room. These 

 will occupy the ground floor and alone be accessible to the public. 

 On the first floor will be the library, microscope rooms and a num- 

 ber of laboratory tables and tanks. One or more detached build- 



