ON THK ZOOLOGICAL STATION AT NAPLES. 153 



histology of the plant, then later I investigated the development of the 

 ' Fasergrubchen,' on which subject I am disposed to come to conclusions 

 opposed to those of Valiante in his monograph on the Cystoceirce. But 

 the greater part of the time was employed in investigating the develop- 

 ment of the reproductive organs, and of the embryos of Sargassxim. I 

 was able to follow the development of the antherozoids up to the time of 

 their discharge, which, however, I did not see. I also followed out the 

 development of the oosphere, but did not observe the process of fertilisa- 

 tion. I reared and carefully observed a large number of embryos, which 

 in their early stages much resembled those of Cystoceira, though many 

 exhibited peculiarities of cell-division and growth partly due to the con- 

 ditions under which they were grown. I had collected a large amount of 

 well-preserved material, besides drawings and notes from fresh specimens, 

 and it was my hope to have suflBcient for a monograph of the Mediter- 

 ranean species of the genus. 



My health, however, which had been failing for some time, finally 

 compelled me to leave Naples on August 20, 1887, four months before 

 the end of the period granted me by the Committee. I hoped to be able 

 to return after a short rest, but I was disappointed. Since then I have 

 been unable to do any work, and for that reason I beg the Committee to 

 excuse the brevity of this report. 



I must express my gratitude to the Committee for the great privilege 

 they granted me in allowing me to study at Naples, and my regret that 

 I have been able to do so little work. I wish also to express my thanks 

 to Dr. Dohrn and the staff of the Zoological Station for the great 

 kindness which they showed to me, as to everyone who studies there, 

 and for the valuable assistance they often gave me. 



II. Report on the Occupation of the Table, by Mr. Andrew David Sloan. 



For the past year I have been deeply interested in the subject of 

 electric organs. While assistant in the Natural History Department of 

 Edinburgh University my attention was directed to the so-called pseudo- 

 electric organs in the skate, and the large number of specimens obtained 

 for dissection by the students afforded me ample material for their study. 

 My interest in the investigation was greatly intensified by the confir- 

 matory work of Dr. Sanderson, which supported from a physiological 

 point of view the opinion urged by Robin after a study of its structure, 

 viz., that the organ in tbe rays hitherto regarded as pseudo-electric really 

 discharged the functions of an electric organ. I found, however, that I 

 should be greatly aided in coming to just conclusions regarding the organ 

 in the skates were I fully prepared for its study by a personal examina- 

 tion of the analogous organ of the Torpedo, which had to a much greater 

 extent received the attention of histologists, and thus I welcomed the 

 opportunity of effecting this purpose, which the kindness of the Committee 

 afforded me in placing at my disposal their table in the Zoological Station 

 at Naples. 



Immediately on my arrival at the Station on March 16, everything 

 was in readiness forme, and an abundance of living torpedoes (T. ocellata) 

 at hand, and I at once began my study of the electric organ, being guided 

 by the recent researches of Ranvier, Babuchin, Boll, Krause, &c., in the 

 methods of treatment and observation. I was thus able to make pre- 

 parations which showed me the distribution and final terminations of the 



