502 



SCIENCE, 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 223. 



seal (Phoca), a genus which is typically 

 oceanic. A discussion ou the meaning of 

 these features lies far from the purpose of 

 the present paper, but certainly such facts 

 do point out most strikingly that the field 

 of limnobiological investigation is not lack- 

 ing in topics of extreme interest. 



From South America reports concerning 

 the fresh water fauna are perhaps most 

 scant}' of all. Frenzel, a German investi- 

 gator who lived manj' years in Argentine 

 Eepublic, has published some interesting 

 studies made while thei'e on the Protozoa ; 

 a few isolated notices of the lacustrine 

 fauna from various regions complete the 

 list. 



From these statements it is apparent that 

 the work done thus far outside of Europe 

 and North America is exceedingly limited, 

 and that for our judgment of the results in 

 formal limnobiological investigations, we 

 must look to the laboratories of these two 

 continents. Among all European countries, 

 Switzerland has furnished jjerhaps the great- 

 est number of investigators and stations for 

 limnobiology, together with the most ex- 

 tended and valuable results, although even 

 yet there is not in that country', so far as I 

 can ascertain, a building exclusively devoted 

 to the purposes of this investigation. First 

 and foremost among these investigators may 

 be mentioned Forel, of the University of 

 Lausanne,* to whom reference has already 

 been made. His investigations have been 

 carried on for more than thirt}' years on 

 Lake Geneva; to him we are indebted for 

 the first knowledge of the abyssal fauna of 

 a fresh-water lake, for the first extended 

 program and plan for the investigation of 

 such a lake, and for the first eflbrt towards 

 the realization of such a plan, which finds 

 its full expression in his 'Lac Leman,' a 

 monogi'aph at present in the course of pub- 



* In a sense the laboratory of the University, which 

 is located near the shore of the lake, is the building of 

 the station, as in Wisconsin, mentioned below. 



lication ; the volumes which have appeared 

 thus far treat of physical, chemical, and 

 meteorological conditions on the lake, and 

 are to be followed by others which will com- 

 plete, with the flora and fauna, the entire 

 limnologic investigation. The series will 

 make a magnificent and permanent contri- 

 bution to lacustrine investigation, and will 

 serve as a model for the work of all times. 



The work of Zschokke, professor at the 

 University of Basel, has been directed as 

 already mentioned towards the elucidation 

 of the faunal aspect of elevated lakes. 

 It has been carried on through many 

 years at differents points, including the 

 lakes of the Jura to the westward, as well as 

 those in various regions of the Alps proper, 

 and his papers on the fauna of elevated 

 lakes contain the only general statement 

 of the problem as well as of the char- 

 acteristic features of such localities that 

 has yet appeared. Lake Constance has 

 been the scene in recent years of the work 

 of numerous investigators under the guid- 

 ance of an association for the investigation 

 of the lake, which has its headquarters at 

 Lindau. The published accounts of these 

 investigations have thus I'ar been prelimi- 

 nary in character, and I am unable to learn, 

 whether there is a building devoted to the 

 purposes of investigation, and whether the 

 work is carried on throughout the entire 

 year. 



This lake was the scene of early investi- 

 gations by Weismann in 1877, and the pres- 

 ent work which was inaugurated about 

 1893 is under the direction of Hofer, of the 

 University of Munich. 



To Bohemia belongs the honor of having 

 had the first definite building for lacustrine 

 investigations in the form of the Bohemian 

 Portable Laboratory which was constructed, 

 in 1888, under the direction of Professor 

 Fritsch , of the Universitj^ of Prague. Refer- 

 ence has already been made to the early 

 work of this investigator, who, in 1871, 



