486 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 171, 



rying about its orange-colored clusters, and 

 Mysis has its brood-pouches distended with 

 embryos. Several species of Amphipods 

 bear eggs. One of these is a large light- 

 colored species, apparently in the height of 

 its breeding season; thousands have been 

 captured in small traps baited with fish. 

 Associated with this amphipod and cap- 

 tured in the same manner, though not 

 breeding, were numerous examples of the 

 Isopod, Oirolana concharum. Enormous, 

 bright- colored Caprellas were dredged in 

 the ' Sound,' and many eggs were taken. 

 Crangon vulgaris is breeding, of course, and 

 it would be interesting to learn when this 

 species is not pregnant. Palamonetes vul- 

 garis, Virhius zostericola and Hippolyte pusiola 

 have been frequently taken, the latter with 

 eggs. The Eupagurids {E. Bernhardus, E. 

 longiearpus, E. poUearis and E. annulipes), 

 though showing enlarged ovaries through 

 their transparent body-walls, have not ex- 

 truded their eggs. The same may be said 

 of Gebia affinis and CalUaiiassa stimpsoni, 

 many individuals of which were taken in 

 I^arragansett Bay on March 8th, of the 

 present year. 



Limulus has not yet approached the 

 shore, though a single specimen was taken 

 in a fyke-net at Waquoit on March 25th. 

 No Cirriped larvse have been taken. On 

 January 3, 16 and 22, 1896, great 

 numbers of these nauplii were taken at 

 Bristol Narrows, R. I-, and on February 

 14th they were still common, though not 

 so abundant. Of course, Copepods have 

 formed a large proportion of the organisms 

 taken at the surface, and they appear to be 

 even more abundant than during the sum- 

 mer months. Volumetric data respecting 

 the Plankton are much desired, though the 

 efiBciency of the ordinary methods for se- 

 curing Plankton will be materially afi'ected 

 by the annoying presence of a gelatinous 

 alga, which quickly renders the net all but 



Vermes. — Having seen myriads oi Nereis 

 virens swimming in the shallow water of 

 the shores of Narragansett Bay, and hav- 

 ing collected several hundred specimens on 

 March 23, 1897, when the water was actu- 

 ally colored with the extruded eggs and 

 spermatozoa, we were not surprised to find 

 several individuals swimming about at 

 Woods Holl. The eggs of this species 

 have not been carefully studied, though 

 they offer some interesting features to those 

 at work upon cell-liueage. Specimens of • 

 immature eggs were taken on January 

 29, 1896, and at Bristol Narrows on 

 March 26th of the same year there were 

 scores of ' spent ' males. The height of 

 the breeding season, then, is probably dur- 

 ing the earlier and middle portions of the 

 month of Mai'ch. Annelid larvae of other 

 species have been abundantly taken both 

 in January and in February. 



ITeteronereis limbata was found at Woods 

 Holl, swimming about on the surface, in 

 broad daylight. The males, on examina- 

 tion, proved ripe. Autolytus cornutus was- 

 frequently taken with eggs, and Harmotlim 

 and Lepidonotus appeared to be almost ripe. 

 CJuBtopterus, Rhi/nchobolus, Maldane, Sthene- 

 lais, Trophonia, Clymenella, and Fhascolosoma 

 were collected, but not in sufficient num- 

 bers to definitely determine their sexual 

 condition. Sagitta M'as excessively abun- 

 dant, and the large clear eggs could easily 

 be seen through the transparent iutegu- 

 ment. 



Mollusca. — Cephalopod mollusks have 

 not arrived, and time has not permitted 

 the examination of the Lamellibranchs. 

 The egg-capsules of the smaller Gastro- 

 pods, so abundant later in the season, were 

 conspicuous by their absence. Naked mol- 

 lusks of gorgeous coloring were dredged in 

 the ' hole ' and ' sound.' Doto coronata, Eolis 

 bostoniensis and Alderia harvardiensis were the 

 most abundant species ; the two latter are 

 breeding in the laboratory. 



