856 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXII. No. 574. 



about six weeks. Special collecting trips 

 for particular sorts of material were, of 

 course, frequently made. 



The plan was continued of holding in- 

 formal weekly meetings devoted for the 

 most part to reports upon researches in 

 progress at the laboratory. Papers were 

 presented by Messrs, Bigelow, Cushman, 

 Gulick, Hargitt, Linton, McClendon, Stock- 

 ard, Sullivan, Sumner and Thompson. 

 These meetings were as a rule well at- 

 tended by outsiders asi well as by the in- 

 vestigators of this laboratory, 



II, BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



This was brought to such a point that a 

 preliminary report upon the fauna and 

 flora of the sea-bottom of this region might 

 be profitably undertaken without further 

 dredging work. It is hoped that the 

 publication of such a report will be pos- 

 sible within a year or two. 



The Fish Hatvk, under command of 

 Lieut. Franklin Swift, U.S.N., was en- 

 gaged during a part of July in reestablish- 

 ing the former coast survey tripods upon 

 Marthas Vineyard and the Elizabeth 

 Islands. Following this, a considerable 

 portion of the bottom of Vineyard Sound, 

 already dredged during the summer of 

 1903, was once more explored. The new 

 dredging stations, being located by the aid 

 of the coast survey signals, could be 

 charted with far greater accuracy than 

 had hitherto been possible. The extreme 

 eastern portion of the sound, which had 

 previously been left out of consideration, 

 was likewise covered by the dredge. In 

 all 101 'stations' were established by the 

 Fish Hawk during a period of about six 

 weeks. The dredging work of this vessel, 

 together with the cataloguing of material 

 thus obtained were under the supervision 

 of Mr. L. J. Cole. 



The Phalarope, under the direction of 

 Mr. R.-C. Osbutn, worked in the shallower 



Avaters of Buzzards Bay, completing the 

 entire eastern shore-line, from Cuttyhunk 

 northward to "Wareham, 



Most of the material obtained by the 

 dredge was identified in the laboratory by 

 those in immediate charge of the work, 

 with the voluntary cooperation of a num- 

 ber of systematists who were engaged in 

 studies at the station. Thus the Forami- 

 nifera were determined by Mr. B. A. Cush- 

 man, who has likewise undertaken the 

 identification of the sponges; the hydroids 

 were referred to Professor C. W. Hargitt, 

 the annelids to Dr. J. P, Moore, and the 

 decapod crustaceans to Miss M. J. Rathbun. 

 Considerable other material, however, still 

 awaits disposal. 



A camp was maintained at Menemsha 

 Bight, Marthas Vineyard, for a period of 

 about six weeks in July and August, three 

 assistants at a time being detailed for this 

 work. The numerous fish traps of this re- 

 gion were visited, and a daily record was 

 kept of the species therein taken. Much 

 material of value was likewise supplied to 

 the laboratory for the use of various in- 

 vestigators, and several species of especial 

 interest were taken, including a small 

 specimen of the great blue shark {Prionace 

 glauca), the only one recorded for this 

 region within twenty-eight years. The 

 torpedo (Tetranarce occidentalis) and the 

 goose fish (Lophius piscatorius) were at 

 one time rather common, and large speci- 

 mens of the former species were kept on 

 exhibition in the aquaria tanks. 



An account of the collecting work at 

 this station is never complete without men- 

 tion of the labors of Mr. Vinal Edwards, 

 whose well-directed search for fishes, fish 

 parasites, plankton, etc., has made possible 

 many of the most important contributions 

 from the laboratory. 



III. INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATIONS. 



The investigators were thirty in number. 



