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21 
1912] Ritter: The Marine Biological Station of San Diego 
movements of the organisms are more or less tentative. In other 
words, the laws governing in these matters are only partly made 
out. On the laboratory side the experimental work urgently 
calls for the completion of the salt-water circulatory system and 
the building of a wharf as the two most important items. The 
details that would be involved in these extensions need not be 
entered into here. It is enough to say that increase to the extent 
indicated, with no curtailment of what is being done, would 
necessitate an increase of yearly expenditure of not less than 
$5000 over what is now available. 
Reference should be made to the involvement in the question 
of future policy and development of two kinds of work which 
though in a sense only subsidiary to biology, are yet very im- 
portant. They are research in hydrography and oceanography, 
and the application of mathematics to biological problems. 
As to hydrography, investigations not only at this station but 
at several European stations have gone far enough to make it 
positive that as a supplement to biology the study of environment 
(for such hydrography as thus treated really is) must not only 
be kept up but must be perfected and extended if anything like 
sound biological advance is to be made in the directions thus far 
followed. There can be no hesitancy about this. The question 
is, Are not some of the oceanographic problems so interesting 
and important in themselves, that is, independent of their rela- 
tion to biology, as to justify according them an independent 
place in the station’s aims and programme? There is certainly 
some temptation, not to say tendency to do this. My present 
view is, however, that it ought not to be done except there be 
special and additional funds provided for the purpose. My 
belief is that although oceanographic problems are of undoubted 
importance, and although pursuit of them on their own merits 
would frequently be quite different from what it would be with 
oceanography held strictly subordinate to biology, important 
hydrographic results may still be reached without the least 
departure from or impairment of the original intent. 
