166 



'.GIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 214. 



of the marine laboratories of France or of 

 Great Britain such favorable conditions for 

 his work as cannot be obtained in connec- 

 tion with our own excellent laboratories. 



It is with this thought in mind that I call 

 the attention of the readers of Science to 

 two of the stations for the study of marine 

 biology which are situated in Brittany. 



Theia6orato?'re de Zoologie Experimentale B,t 

 Koscoff, in Finistere, is under the direction 

 of its founder, Monsieur le professeur de 

 Lacaze-Duthiers, of the Sorbonne, whose 

 hospitality to foreigners is most generous. 



Eoscoff may be quicklj'^ reached from 

 Southampton by the boat to St. Malo, a 

 Breton seaport, or from Harve via Paris. 

 It is a quaint old town, with a port devoted 

 to the export of vegetables to England ; its 

 narrow streets, among the ancient buildings 

 of the village, are busy with the activities 

 of the honest, sturdy Breton peasantry. 

 The picturesque surrounding country, with 

 its dolmens and menhirs, medieval chateaux 

 and churches, attracts during the summer 

 large numbers of tourists. 



The laboratory at Roscoif is a building 

 of the 16th century which faces, on the 

 east, the principal public square. Ivj' cov- 

 ered gables and round towers project be- 

 hind into an enclosed garden. Between the 

 garden and the sea, at the north, is a large 

 grass-roofed aquarium room, with two spa- 

 cious stone basins in the middle and numer- 

 ous tanks along the north and south sides 

 of the building. These are supplied with 

 running seawater, which is pvimped from a 

 large stone vivarium situated between the 

 aquarium and the sea. 



Opening into the aquarium room is the 

 main laboratory for investigators, with eight 

 tables, in addition to which four private 

 work rooms are at the disposal of the Di- 

 rector, besides those of himself and of his 

 staff. The laboratory, which, like the other 

 marine laboratories in France, is supported 

 by the State, is well equipped with reagents, 



stains, glassware, etc., and a dark room is 

 provided for photographic work. 



As regards the fauna, the fact is to 

 be emphasized that for plankton studies 

 Roscoff is badly situated, whereas for 

 shore collecting its position is admirable. 

 The invertebrate fauna, especially, is very 

 rich. The coast is diversified with numer- 

 ous rocky islands and with bays which 

 have a bottom of mud, sand or shingle. 

 The spring tides at Roscoff rise and fall, at 

 their maximum, about nine meters, so that 

 a very large area is exposed at low tide. 



Thirty-one investigators and elementary 

 students during the summer of 1898 availed 

 themselves of the advantages of this excel- 

 lent laboratory. The venerable Director of 

 the station made a brief visit in August. 

 The following were engaged with special 

 studies : 



Monsieur L. Bontan, the Embryology of 

 Acmea, Haliotis and Scallaria ; Professor 

 Y. Delage, Experiments upon Fertilization 

 of the Egg of Echinus ; Doctor Dominici, 

 Hematopoesis in the Chordata (Selachians 

 and Amphioxus) ; Professor P. Francotte, 

 of Brussels, Maturation and Fertilization 

 of the Egg in Turbellaria ; Dr. J. George- 

 vitsch, of Belgrade, Embryology of Den- 

 talium ; Dr. N. Koltzoff, of St. Petersburg, 

 Embryology of the Head of Elasmobranchs; 

 Monsieur A. Rober t,Embry clog}' of Trochus; 

 Monsieur P. Yignon, Excretion in the Crus- 

 tacea. 



The present writer was occupied with the 

 Embryology of Phascolosoma. 



Professor Chalon, of Brussels, studied 

 and made collections of the Algse. 



The Laboratoire de Zoologie et de Physiologie 

 maritimes at Concarneau is under the charge 

 of Professor Fabre-Domergue, of the College 

 de France. Founded in 1859 by Monsieur 

 Coste, it is said to be the oldest marine 

 laboratory in existence. 



Concarneau is a village of southern Brit- 

 tany, near the picturesque and beautiful 



