1912) Ritter: The Marine Biological Station of San Diego 211 
distribution as was suggested, is impracticable. Other discrep- 
ancies between the programme indicated and that actually carried 
out will be seen by anyone who studies Michael’s work, particu- 
larly. With this reference to what the past teaches concerning 
both the value and the limitations of laying out work for the 
future, we may pass to a consideration, in barest outline only, of 
what now appears the next thing to be done. 
II. NECESSITY OF CLOSER CO-OPERATION BETWEEN FIELD 
WORK AND LABORATORY WORK 
Looking at the matter from the standpoint of both the present 
stage of the scientific work and the actual conditions of the 
station as a means of prosecuting this work still further, two 
things are quite clear. These are the desirability of continuing 
the collection of data at sea in much the same way as this has 
been in progress during the last three years especially, though 
increased in amount of work done and in refinement of method; 
and of taking up in earnest laboratory experimentation to supple- 
ment the field operations. The sharpness of definition which these 
two things have taken on with experience, brings up so con- 
cretely the much discussed question of the relative merits of the 
experimental as against the observational and descriptive method 
of research in biology, that I cannot forbear some remarks on the 
subject. 
The view to which one is irresistibly led in carrying forward 
an enterprise like ours is that both field observation and labora- 
tory experimentation are wholly indispensable, since each fur- 
nishes ways of entrance into the problems presented that the 
other cannot possibly furnish. There is no more ground for 
holding either the one or the other as fhe method, as being the 
more important or more promising, than there is for holding 
either the father or the mother to be the more important or more 
promising in the begetting of offspring among the higher animals. 
If, for example, it is desirable to know how many kinds of fishes 
there are in the sea, there is no way of finding out except to 
go a-fishing and keep at it until no more fish can be caught; or if 
the question is raised whether or not the deepest depths of the 
ocean are inhabited by living beings, it can be answered in no 
