278 



NATURE 



[Fed. 8,1872 



of physical science, intended to make important reforms, I 

 easily arrived at a mutual understanding. It was his idea 

 to elevate the studies in Italy by introducing foreign, es- 

 pecially German, scientific men into the chairs at the uni- 

 versities, who should teach the new generation of Italian 

 students. I worked out for him a project for the erection 

 of a zoological station at Naples, the most suitable place 

 in Italy. The Casino Reale at Chiatamone was to be trans- 

 formed and fitted up for such a purpose, and a little steam 

 yacht for dredging was to be placed at the disposal of the 

 station. The latter was in the meantime intended for a 

 sort of school, connected with the whole system of public 

 instruction, to form teachers of natural history for the 

 whole kingdom. The plan was completely worked out 

 and adopted by Matteucci and several others among the 

 first scientific men of Italy. They applauded it heartily ; 

 Filippo de Filippi especially did everything he could to 

 bring it into play, and talked about it, as he told me, to 

 King Victor Emmanuel during a hunting-party. Matteucci 

 afterwards left the ministry— Filippi and he are dead— the 

 fate of the project is easily to be understood. 



" Thus I had got round the Mediterranean. In January 

 1 87 1 I was at Trieste delivering public lectures. On Jan- 

 uary 8 I published in the Nc-w Free Press two letters on 

 ' Some Necessities and Wants of Scientific Investigation,' 

 the subject of which presented itself to my mind when view- 

 ing some of the Austrian arrangements for public instruc 

 tion. I may be allowed to say thit my article met with 

 universal approval ; and some Triestian friends, amongst 

 whom I may mention especially Field- Marshal Lieutenant 

 V. Moring,at the time Governor of the Coast District, talked 

 with me on it, and agreed that Trieste would be a very 

 good place for the execution of my project. Moring him- 

 self directed my attention to some small buildings at iVI ira- 

 mare, lying outside the park ; we visited them togeher 

 and talked about the necessary arrangements to be made. 

 I worked out a fresh project, made rather special calcula- 

 tions on the money necessaiy for executing it, and sent all 

 this to the Austrian Minister of Public Instruction, Herr 

 V. Siremayr, with whom I spoke on the subject afterwards, 

 when I passed through Vienna. As you know, I addressed 

 at the same time Gegenbaur, Haeckel, and you, to approve 

 my views and assist me. You sent me besides a letter from 

 Darwin, who applauded much your own plan for erectino- 

 a station, and had even offered a subscription for it. I 

 added all these letters to my memorial, which unfortunately 

 had the same fate as the Italian : Stremayer left the 

 ministry before he could do the least thing for the realisa- 

 tion of a plan which he thought exceedingly valuable." 



Though Prof. Vogt did not succeed in carrying out 

 his plan, there can be no doubt that his idea is the very 

 one wanted for the present state of biology. A great 

 number of other zoologists entertained it, Ijut nobody 

 knew how to execute it. 



In the winter of 1868-69 I found myself at Messina, occu- 

 pied with the investigation of the embryology of Crustacea. 

 Together with my friend Miclucho Maclay I often spoke 

 of the necessity of establishing a zoological station on the 

 coast of the Mediterranean, and we agreed to leave a 

 considerable quantity of instruments, amongst which was 

 a small aquarium furnishing a constant stream of water, to 

 our successors in Messina. An Austrian squadron, just sail- 

 ing round the globe with a considerable number of natural- 



ists, amongst whom were Herr v. Scherger and others, 

 stopped several days in the harbour of Messina, and caused 

 me many thoughts about the great advantage such and 

 other expeditions would derive from a net of scientific 

 stations stretched over the whole globe. 



But how to get anything like such stations built and 

 kept up for years.? I did not know at that time that Prof. 

 Vogt had already tried to get assistance from several 

 great governments, and had failed to succeed. But I 

 did not even try to do anything like this, knowing before- 

 hand that it would be useless. Zoology is at present in a 

 rising condition, it has still to conquer the place it ought 

 to occupy in the attention of the public by making itself 

 indispensable, to intellectual progress. As it is, govern- 

 ments will not easily be induced to sacrifice much money 

 for the progress of this science. 



I took another line. After some unsuccessful attempts 

 to get money by collecting small sums, I combined the 

 idea of founding a scientific station with the plan of build- 

 ing a great public aquarium at Naples. My calculation 

 was, that by the entrance-fee of that aquarium the sums 

 necessary for keepingup the station could easilybe obtained, 

 and that perhaps more than that would come out of it. 

 I saw at a certain distance even the possibility of erecting 

 other stations with the surplus of the Naples income, and 

 of giving in such a way quite a new development to biolo- 

 gical science, just that development which biology wanted 

 after the great event of the Darwinian theory. 



As soon as I hid got a hold at Naples, I begai to 

 spread my ideas in letters and conversations. I the 



pleasure of finding almost everybody in England and 

 Germany quite ready to assist as much as possible. I 

 brought the subject befor; the meeting of the British 

 Association in Liverpool, and succeeded so far that a 

 committee was appointed by Section D, composed of 

 Prot. Rolleston, Dr. Sclater, and myself as secretary, 

 under the name of '■ The Committee for the Foundation 

 of Zoological Stations in Different Parts of the Globe." 



This was duiing the war between Germany and France. 

 While it lasted it was almost impossible to do anything 

 in favour of the scheme I had got into my head, except 

 thinking and meditating upon it as much as possible. 

 But as soon as peace was mtde I proceeded again, as 

 well with the negotiations at Naples as with agitation in 

 other countries. 



As secretary of the above-named committee, I gave a 

 report to the meeting of the British Association at Edin- 

 burgh. I stated in that report that the establishment at 

 Naples was now quite safe, so far as the permission of 

 the Town Council was concerned ; and that, in all proba- 

 bility, the station would ht seen there in working order in 

 January 1S73. I added that I had got the assistance of 

 my own Government, and I may add here that the Italian 

 Government also assists me greatly. I proposed fur- 

 ther in my report that the British Association might con- 

 sider the opportunity given by the cessation of the annual 

 grant to the Kew Obervatory, of building a zoological 

 station at one of the most favourable places on the British 

 coast. My idea in proposing this was based on the same 

 considerations which had made me go to Naples. I 

 thought it very convenient and very practicable to build a 

 small station, for example, at Torquay or Plymouth, and 

 to combine in such a station, in the same way as at 



