244 



SCIENCE: 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 476. 



of at least one of the botanists is assured, 

 in the endeavor to have the flora, as well 

 as the fauna, included in the catalogue. 

 A liberal appropriation, which has been 

 granted by the bureau, will enable the 

 writer to continue this work during the 

 present winter. 



VII. DREDGING WORK OF THE 'FISH HAWK.' 



The Fish Hawk arrived at Woods Hole 

 on the nineteenth of July, and remained 

 until September 10, during the greater part 

 of which period she was at the disposal of 

 the laboratory. It was thought that the 

 admirable facilities for dredging possessed 

 by this vessel could be put to greatest ad- 

 vantage by carrying out a systematic sur- 

 vey of the bottom of Vineyard Sound, a 

 task which had not been undertaken since 

 the days when Professor Verrill and his 

 associates gathered the material for their 

 reports on the invertebrate fauna of these 

 waters. 



Accordingly, dredgings were made at 

 intervals of three fourths of a mile along 

 parallel lines crossing the sound, these 

 lines being constructed at intervals of one 

 mile. Various sorts of dredges were em- 

 ployed, according to the character of the 

 bottom, and frequently one spot or 'sta- 

 tion' was covered by more than one sort 

 of dredge. The usual physical data- 

 density of water, character of bottom, tem- 

 perature, etc. — were recorded for each sta- 

 tion. Material for a complete record of 

 the biological data has been preserved. 

 The more familiar species were listed as 

 they were taken aboard, record being kept 

 of the condition and relative abundance of 

 each. The remainder are at present rep- 

 resented by preserved specimens which 

 await identification by experts. An even 

 approximate list of the species taken can 

 not, at present, be given. In all 82 'sta- 

 tions' are recorded in Vineyard Sound, 

 ranging from Nobska Point to Gay Head. 



In addition, s, trip was made to Crab 

 Ledge, a shoal about seven miles east of 

 Chatham, on Cape Cod, where seven sta- 

 tions were dredged. 



It is planned that this dredging of the 

 bottom of Vineyard Sound shall be con- 

 tinued and shall be supplemented by thor- 

 ough work upon the shore life of this re- 

 gion, thus completing a biological survey 

 of these waters. It is likely, too, that some 

 sort of cooperation with the botanists will 

 be arranged for. Such extensive plans 

 can not, of course, be carried into effect 

 without the employment of several special- 

 ists as assistants. The relation which such 

 a survey would bear to the catalogue above 

 discussed is obvioi^s. 



A regular form of collecting record 

 blank was adopted for work of this char- 

 acter, and 2,500 copies were printed at the 

 Government Printing Office. 



Acknowledgment must here be made of 

 the valuable assistance of Mr. R. C. Osburn, 

 in connection with the dredging work; of 

 the services of Dr. J. P. Moore and Dr. 

 R. P. Bigelow, who identified respectively 

 the annelids and the crabs collected; and 

 of Dr. B. M. Davis and Miss Lillian 

 McRae, who identified the algse. Finally 

 it must be mentioned that Avithout the able 

 and conscientious services of Capt. James 

 A. Smith, in command of the Fish Hawk, 

 the present measure of success would have 

 been impossible. 



Vltl. OTHER INVESTIGATIONS. 



In the brief statements given below, the 

 language of the investigators themselves 

 has been used as far as possible. 



Robert Payne Bigelow, Ph.D., instructor 

 in biology, Massachusetts Institute of 

 Technology: (1) 'Stomatopoda of the 

 Albatross Hawaiian Expedition,' (2) 

 'Braehyura of the Woods Hole Region.' 

 During the spring there was placed in Dr. 

 Bigelow 's hands a collection of stomato- 



