February 12, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



245 



poda gathered by the Albatross during the 

 Hawaiian and Samoan expeditions of 1902. 

 This collection was broiight by him to 

 Woods Hole, and his chief work during the 

 summer was the sorting of this material 

 and the identification of the known forms 

 preparatory to making a detailed study of 

 each species, with drawings. The collec- 

 tion is especially rich in larvae, and the 

 sorting of these has been done with a view 

 to discovering series of stages, and the 

 identification of larvse with adult forms. 



Dr. Bigelow also identified crabs col- 

 lected by the Fish HawJc, and collected ma- 

 terial in connection with his report on the 

 Brachyura of the Woods Hole region, now 

 in preparation. 



Frank C. Carlton, graduate student in 

 Harvard University: 'The Color Changes 

 of some Fishes.' Fundulus heteroclitus 

 was found to exhibit marked changes of 

 color, depending primarily upon differ- 

 ences in the illumination. The skin is of 

 a light gray color in the daylight, but is 

 almost black in the dark. A fish put into 

 a porcelain bowl and set in the light was 

 found to change to a paler color, but the 

 same fish put into a dish lined with black 

 cloth remained dark, even if the illumina- 

 tion of the latter dish were the same as 

 that of the white porcelain one. 



The spinal cord of a fish which had pre- 

 viously shown the normal color changes 

 was cut, and, after recovery from the 

 shock of the operation, the fish was placed 

 in the light. The posterior part now re- 

 mained dark under all circumstances. 

 This experiment seemed to prove that the 

 change from dark to light is under nervous 

 control. 



From experiments in cutting the optic 

 nerves of fishes whose color changes had 

 previously been normal, it was concluded 

 that light must influence the pigment cells 



through the eyes, since such fish did not 

 show the reactions above described. 



Leon J. Cole, Austin Teaching Fellow in 

 Zoology, Harvard University: 'Studies 

 upon Carp.' Material was worked over 

 and notes compiled, based upon field work 

 at various places on the Great Lakes dur- 

 ing the past three summers. The results 

 will be embodied in a report for the bureau. 



Ulric Dahlgren, M.S., assistant professor 

 of histology, Princeton University: En- 

 gaged in collecting material for histological 

 studies. 



George Wilton Field, Ph.D., assistant, 

 Massachusetts State Board of Health: (I.) 

 'The Edible Lamellibranchs as a Source 

 of Infection.' Together with Dr. C. A. 

 Puller, Dr. Field carried on, from August 

 10 to October 15, an investigation on the 

 relations between shell-fish and sewage bac- 

 teria, and instituted experiments for the 

 purpose of answering the following ques- 

 tions: (1) Are sewage bacteria {Bacillus 

 coli, the type form) normal and usual in- 

 habitants of shell-fish? (2) How soon 

 after the introduction of B. coli into the 

 water does it appear in the clam? (3) 

 How long does B. coli live in ordinary sea 

 water? (4) How long, under normal con- 

 ditions, does B. coli remain alive and ac- 

 tive in the intestine of the shell- fish? (5) 

 Is it probable that the shell-fish digest B. 

 coli and thus incidentally act as purifiers 

 of the sewage-polluted waters, and, fur- 

 ther, that by digesting B. coli, shell-fish 

 may after a time become free from sewage- 

 bacteria, and, therefore, harmless as food 

 for man? (6) Examination to ascertain 

 what anatomical region is most certain to 

 give a true index of the presence of B. coli. 



The methods used by Dr. Field and Dr. 

 Puller for securing proper conditions of 

 infection with Bacillus coli and for main- 



