468 



NA TURE 



[Sept. 13, 1883 



time to be made public. The resolution which has now 

 been come to is to go on with the undertaking, and the 

 scheme is of a twofold character: (1) to undertake a 

 scientific exploration and description of the Firth of 

 Forth and the adjacent parts of the North Sea; and (2) 

 to establish a marine station for biological investigation 

 and research, where competent scientific men may find 

 laboratories and all the appliances for research free of 

 charge. With respect to the first branch of the scheme, 

 it is meant to take the temperature of the water at fixed 

 points of the Firth, extending from the fresh water of the 

 Firth out to points beyond the Isle of May. The tem- 

 peratures of the surface water and of the bottom and 

 intermediate waters are to be taken at stated intervals 

 throughout the year. It is part of the same scheme to 

 note the character of the surface fauna and flora regu- 

 larly throughout the year at these points, and the changes 

 in the specific gravity of the water at the different times 

 of the year and at different parts of the Firth. Observa- 

 tions will also be carefully laid down on the Admiralty 

 charts of the nature of the bottom, and of the deposits, 

 throughout the whole region, and a record of the animals 

 living upon these is also to be attempted, so as to arrive 

 at a complete scientific description of the bottom and its 

 deposits. To this will be added a record of the effects 

 upon the fauna, &c, of the admixture of river and ocean 

 water at different parts, and of circumstances favourable 

 or inimical to life and growth. Under the second branch 

 of the scheme the proposal is to establish at Granton 

 Quarry, and at various places in the Firth, investigations 

 as to the hatching, breeding, and growth of various 

 kinds of fish and marine invertebrates in inclosed spaces, 

 or in cages moored at various points. The central sta- 

 tion will be situated at the quarry. Here it is pro- 

 posed to build, on a high part of the banks surrounding 

 the quarry, a substantial cottage, from which a beautiful 

 view of the whole Firth will be had. The cottage is to 

 be fitted up with laboratories, and will consist of about 

 six rooms, and cost from 400/. to 500/. On a level piece 

 of ground adjoining the quarry there will be erected an 

 iron cottage and shed for the keeper of the station, and 

 for housing the trawls, dredges, nets, and other instru- 

 ments required for the proposed investigations. This 

 will cost from 150/. to 200/. Also, as part of the scheme, 

 there is to be built a floating laboratory — that is to say, a 

 laboratory built on a barge of the description mentioned 

 to the Royal Society, and supplied with all the materials 

 and apparatus requisite for biological investigation. This 

 structure, it is interesting to note, will be so fashioned 

 that it may bs taken to any part of the Firth of Forth, 

 and moored in sheltered spots during the summer wher- 

 ever it may be thought desirable that investigations shall 

 be carried on at any particular spot. This laboratory, it 

 is intended, will give accommodation for three naturalists, 

 with workrooms, and will cost about 800/. The station, 

 furthermore, is to be provided with a steam launch fitted 

 for dredging purposes and the making of hydrographic 

 observations. The launch, according to the design, is to 

 be built upon the plan of the steam pinnace that accom- 

 panied the Challenger during her cruise, but much larger, 

 and will be provided with a separate engine for rolling in 

 the dredges. This again will cost about 800/. In addition 

 to these things there will be a small portable house 

 belonging to the station, which may be put up on 

 Inchkeith, Inchmickery, Inchcolm, or the Isle of May, 

 should it be desirable to carry on any observations at 

 these places. This, together with the cages formerly 

 described for inclosing portions of the ocean and water of 

 the quarry, will cost, it is estimated, about 300/. more. 

 The fund which was granted by the Committee of the 

 Fisheries Exhibition is to be applied, at the rate of 300/. a 

 ear for three or four years, to the keeping up of the station 

 nd the payment of the annual working expenses, in- 

 luding the salaries of a resident naturalist, an engineer, 



and a keeper. So that what is now wanted in order to 

 the full equipment of the station is about 1500/. to pay 

 for the permanent works which are required before the 

 station can be in complete working order. In the event 

 of this sum being forthcoming at an early date, it is 

 thought that the whole institution would be in working 

 order next spring — probably by March or April. 



It is believed by a number of our scientific men that an 

 undertaking of this kind, which will afford the means of 

 making continuous observations into the circumstances 

 which affect marine animals and plants — their food and 

 their enemies — is the true method of getting the informa- 

 tion necessary to settle many of the vexed questions with 

 respect to the life histories of our food fishes, both of the 

 salmon and sea fishes. The Firth of Forth yields special 

 facilities for work of this kind. Thus, almost all our 

 food fishes are frequenters of the Firth, and it is known 

 to have a rich fauna, which has at various times been 

 investigated by distinguished naturalists, as by Johnston 

 of Berwick ; Parnell, Allman, Forbes, Herdman, and 

 others. A thorough investigation of the kind proposed 

 will lead to great additions to knowledge, and will 

 probably give the information that was wanted as to the 

 evil effects or otherwise of trawling, which is one of the 

 vexed questions at the present day. By directing their 

 efforts to the thorough working out of a somewhat limited 

 area like the Firth of Forth, in its meteorological, hydro- 

 graphical, and biological aspects, the Committee believe 

 that more rapid progress will be made than by inter- 

 mittent observations at widely separate points. Such a 

 station will also be a great boon to naturalists who desire 

 to work at any special subject. Naturalists are often 

 deterred from undertaking investigations because of the 

 difficulty of providing themselves with dredges, steam- 

 launch assistance, &c. Here they will have these ready 

 at hand whenever they choose to visit the station. So 

 that, from this point of view, in addition to the purely 

 scientific aspect of an undertaking of this [kind, it 

 probably will be found to have a very wide economic 

 bearing. The plans of the floating laboratory and of the 

 other structures to which reference has been made are 

 in the hands of Mr. Murray, from whom [persons in- 

 terested or desirous to aid in the carrying out of the 

 scheme will receive every information they may wish to 

 have. 



NOTES 

 The Directors of the Ben Nevis Observatory met on 

 Thursday, 6th inst, and out of a list of nineteen applicants 

 elected Mr. R. T. Oroond, Edinburgh, Superintendent of 

 the Observatory. Mr. Omond was a dMinguished student 

 of Edinburgh University, and for the past six or seven 

 years hns been chief assistant of Prof. Tait in conducting an 

 extended series of physical experiments on the influence of pres- 

 sure on deep-sea thermometers, the maximum density of water 

 under different pressures, and cognate subjects of inquiry. The 

 results of his work have been communicated in the form ot 

 papers to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Mr. Omond's duties 

 began from the above date ; and shortly two assistants will be 

 appointed, so that in October next a staff of three observers will 

 have taken up their station at the Observatory, prepared to enter 

 upon the work of the coming winter. The highest section of 

 the bridle-road to the summit of the Ben was finished on 

 Thurday at noon, and the first pair of horses which ever 

 ascended the mountain made the ascent in the afternoon, carrying 

 2 cwt. each of building material. The building of the per- 

 manent Observatory commenced on the following day. A number 

 of horses are employed carrying up material, and the Observatory 

 is expected to be finished early next month. Arrangements are 

 also being made for laying a telegraphic cable from Fort William 



