94 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 25. 



logical station in the broader sense of the 

 word, — an organization on a grand scale for 

 the study of marine life in all its aspects. Its 

 brilliant career during the first nine j-ears of 

 its existence not onlj' insures its permanenc)', 

 but also gives pledge of future growth com- 

 mensurate with the ever-expanding needs of 

 biological research. 



The station is no less liberal in its manage- 

 ment than comprehensive in its aims ; for it 

 opens its doors to naturalists from all quarters 

 of the globe on like conditions. It is the in- 

 ternational character of the station, combined 

 with the natural advantages of situation, which 

 has made it, in so short time, the Mecca of 

 biologists, and a seat of unprecedented prolific 

 activity. The mild and equable climate of 

 Naples, the unsurpassed richness of the fauna 

 and flora of its bay, and the best equipped 

 laboratory in the world, conspire to give the 

 Naples station pre-eminence among institu- 

 tions of its kind, and to render it probable 

 that it will remain what it is now acknowl- 

 edged to be, — the world's great biological 

 station. 



The detailed account given in Miss Nunn's 

 valuable article (Science, Nos. 17 and 18) 

 makes it unnecessarj^ to enter here into a de- 

 scription of the laboratory ; and Mr. Cunning- 

 ham's excellent re^view of the work which it 

 has already accomplished {Nature, March 15) 

 is doubtless accessible to most of the readers 

 of Science. 



Let us rather consider the practical question 

 of our own interest, as Americans, in this 

 institution. Except in a single and note- 

 worthj"^ case of veiy recent date, we have thus 

 far taken no active interest in this matter. 

 The distance between us and Naples has 

 seemed to foster the idea that we have no 

 immediate and common concern with European 

 nations in opportunities that lie so much near- 

 er their doors than ours. But recent events 

 have demonstrated that there is a demand on 

 the part of American naturalists for just such 

 opportunities as are now offered at Naples, and 

 nowhere else ; and with them political isola- 

 tion is not likelj- to be mistaken for scientific 



isolation. That this demand does not arise 

 from whimsical reasons will certainly be con- 

 ceded by all who understand its meaning. Still 

 there may be some who will ask if the field for 

 investigation is not sufficiently broad at home, 

 and the facilities for work sufliciently ample, 

 to satisf}' the requirements of American natu- 

 ralists. With all due respect to such queries, 

 we would suggest that the}' do not contain 

 the gist of the matter : for even on the pre- 

 posterous supposition that our facilities for 

 biological research are fullj' as great as those 

 at Naples, no one could claim that the}' are 

 identical ; so that it would still be pertinent to 

 ask. Can we not profitably add the advantages 

 in Naples to those enjoyed at home ? The real 

 question comes to this : Are there advantages 

 at Naples which are not oflTered here, and are 

 they worth the time and money required to 

 obtain them? • Now, it is no disparagement 

 to home talent and resources, to say that the 

 advantages of studj' at the Naples station 

 are incomparably greater, and certainlj' more 

 numerous, than those at our command. More 

 than this, there is not a single laboratorj' in 

 Europe where the student of natural histoiy 

 can pursue his studies under so favorable cir- 

 cumstances as at Naples. This is doubtless 

 much to saj', when we remember that the 

 laboratories of Huxle}', Lankester, Lacaze- 

 Duthiers, Van Beneden, Leuckart, Haeckel, 

 Gegenbaur, Claus, Semper, Kolliker, Barrois, 

 and Giard are of world-wide repute ; but it 

 is not merelj' our private opinion, it is an 

 acknowledged fact. Of course, we are not 

 now speaking of the comparative merits of this 

 institution for students just beginning their 

 studies, but for those who are already more or 

 less prepared for independent work. 



The Naples station makes no pretension 

 to fulfilling the functions of a school or a 

 college : its aim is to advance biological re- 

 search ; and to this end it consecrates all its 

 energies. It is a laboratoiy organized and 

 equipped, not for training the inexperienced, 

 but for aiding the investigator. It represents, 

 in many respects, the excellences of all the 

 best laboratories of Europe combined, and sur- 



