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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 928 



his will, was forced to acknowledge that he 

 had thoroughly misjudged the character 

 and capabilities of his son; and when let- 

 ters from Darwin, K. E. von Baer and other 

 notices of the importance of the newly- 

 founded Zoological Station left no further 

 room for doubt, only then did he grant the 

 sum which Dohrn would later have inher- 

 ited. Fortunately, for many years he was 

 able to enjoy the ever-increasing success of 

 this son. 



In the year 1873, as the station was Hear- 

 ing completion, a picture was placed beside 

 the other frescoes which adorned the walls 

 in the hall later to become the library, but 

 then planned as part of Dohrn 's residence 

 — a picture which as a document of the 

 time will become more and more valuable 

 as the years go on. The painting shows us 

 five young men who had gathered together 

 about Dohrn in Naples. The highly gifted 

 and unusual Nikolas Kleinberg, chosen by 

 his friend as director of the laboratory; 

 next him the English poet and writer, 

 Charles Grant, who, enthusiastically emers- 

 ing himself in Neapolitan life, became the 

 beloved interpreter for his friends of their 

 new environment; Adolf Hildebrand, the 

 sculptor, to whom the exterior elevation of 

 the building suggested by Dohrn owes its 

 artistic harmony, and in the background 

 of the picture is Hans von Marees, the 

 painter himself. To-day these frescoes at- 

 tract to the Zoological Station the art con- 

 noisseur, almost as much as the biologist. 

 Here we see these friends, joined a little 

 later by the gifted Francis Balfour as in 

 the ruins of Posilippo they sit together 

 over a glass of wine at the end of a full 

 day's work. On one such evening the ex- 

 uberance of their joy in living found ex- 

 pression by their decision to swim to the 

 Castell DeU'Ovo, a test of strength to which 

 Dohrn alone proved equal. At last in Feb- 

 ruary, 1874, the Zoological Station was 



ready for a formal opening, although al- 

 ready a number of investigators had com- 

 menced their work. Shortly after this 

 Dohrn married Fraulein Marie von Bra- 

 nowska, the daughter of a friend who lived 

 in Italy. She took a very prominent part 

 in the fulfillment of his ideals. Four sons 

 came from this union, the third of whom, 

 Eeinhart, is the successor of his father. 



With the finishing of the building and 

 aquaria, there commenced for Dohrn the 

 only less difficult task of equipping the 

 station and providing for its maintenance, 

 so as to meet every possible demand of the 

 investigators working there. At this pe- 

 riod his broad view and talent for organiza- 

 tion, the tact with which he held in check 

 numberless small difficulties, his restless 

 ambitions, are perhaps more worthy than 

 ever of admiration. It was now necessary 

 to attract young scientists as assistants to 

 the new institution, to educate a personnel 

 to carry on the routine and to establish a 

 regular industry of fisheries. The num- 

 berless demands of the often inexperienced 

 investigator had to be learned and satisfied. 

 The habitat of the animals, the times of 

 their appearance and of their maturity, had 

 to be determined, not to mention many 

 other details. This early period of the 

 station presents a happy picture, over 

 which now lies the enchantment lent by 

 distance, blotting out some of the un- 

 pleasantnesses. 



All was ceaseless activity, as at the ad- 

 vent of spring, and the work grew under 

 the hand of its creator. Early experiences 

 had shown that the station could not prop- 

 erly carry out its functions without a small 

 steamer, and the Johannes Miiller soon be- 

 gan its successful voyages. But now an 

 imperfect knowledge of the fauna and fiora 

 of the bay made itself painfully felt, and 

 in order to gradually remedy this defect 

 Dohrn began the publication of "Fauna 



