Junes, 1899. J 



SCIENCE. 



797 



merit of the Fish Commission steamei' Alba- 

 tross ensures the proper paraphernalia for 

 marine research. 



The objective points of the expedition are 

 certain groups of ishinds in the middle of 

 the Pacific Ocean, of botli sides of the equa- 

 tor, about whose local fauna little is known, 

 and in the waters contiguous to which 

 little or no scientific investigation has been 

 conducted. 



The Albatross will sail from San Francisco 

 about the middle of August, and proceed 

 directly to Tahiti, in the Society Islands, 

 possibly touching at the Marquesas Islands 

 for coal. On this trip of 3,500 miles, dredg- 

 ing and sounding will be carried on at 

 regular intervals on an almost wholly un- 

 explored section of the sea bottom. 



Tahiti will be made the headquarters 

 while the Paumotu Islands are being ex- 

 plored. In this archipelago, which is about 

 600 miles long, the Albatross will pass six or 

 eight weeks, and important scientific dis- 

 coveries should be made, as the natural his- 

 tory of the region is practically unknown. 



After returning to the Society Islands 

 the vessel will go to the Tonga, or Friendly 

 Islands, a distance of about 1,500 miles, 

 where a week or ten days will be spent. 

 Thence the vessel will sail for the Fiji 

 Islands, where a short stay will be made, 

 and thence 1,700 miles to the Marshall 

 Islands, visiting a number of the Ellice 

 Islands and Gilbert Islands on the way. 

 Six or seven weeks will be devoted to the 

 exploration of the Marshall Islands, about 

 whose fauna almost nothing is known. 



Between the Marshall Islands and the 

 Hawaiian Islands, and between the latter 

 and San Francisco, a distance of over 4,000 

 miles, a line of deep-sea dredgings will be 

 run, deep-sea tow-nets being used while the 

 dredging is going on. This work is expec- 

 ted to be one of the most interesting features 

 of the expedition. 



The Albatross is expected to return to the 



United States about April 10, 1900, after a 

 voyage of 20,000 miles. 



Every effort is being made to thoroughly 

 equip the vessel for deep-sea dredging, 

 trawling and sounding ; surface and inter- 

 mediate towing ; shore seining ; fishing 

 trials with lines and nets; land collecting, 

 and other branches of the work. The 

 newest apparatus for deep-sea and plankton 

 investigations will be supplied. Special ap- 

 pliances are being constructed for use in the 

 vei-y deep water to be found about some of 

 the islands, and it is expected that the 

 dredge will be hauled at a greater depth 

 than has heretofore been attempted. The 

 Albatross, since her return to the Fish Com- 

 mission by the Navy Department, on the 

 conclusion of the Spanish-American War, 

 has been undergoing extensive repairs and 

 improvements, including the installation of 

 new boilers, the building of an ice-making 

 machine and cold-storage plant, electric 

 fans, etc., and will, on this expedition, 

 more than ever deserve the reputation of 

 being the best equipped vessel in existence 

 for scientific research. 



The personnel of the expedition will be 

 as follows: Professor Alexander Agassiz, in 

 charge of the scientific work, accompanied 

 by his son ; Lieutenant Commander Jeffer- 

 son F. Moser, United States Navy, com- 

 manding officer of the Albatross, in charge 

 of lopographical surveys ; Dr. H. F. Moore, 

 chief naturalist of the .-i^Sfrfj-oss ; Mr. Charles 

 H. Townsend, late naturalist of the Alba- 

 tross ; Dr. W. McM. Woodworth and Dr. A. 

 G. Mayer, Museum of Comparative Zoology, 

 Cambridge, Mass. ; Mr. A. B. Alexander, 

 United States Fish Commission, fishery ex- 

 pert ; Mr. H. C. Fassett, United States 

 Fish Commission, photographer. The ves- 

 sel is manned by ten oflBcers and seventy 

 petty officers and enlisted men of the United 

 States Navj'. 



The Department of State evinces a lively 

 interest in the expedition, and has through 



