10 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 862 



hope for much more extensive, perhaps con- 

 clusive, evidence along this line when the 

 medusae of the Michael Sars are worked up. 

 Dr. Hjort believes that the zone marking 

 the upper limit of the red and black forms is 

 particularly rich quantitatively, a view to 

 which I subscribe, having already argued that 

 it is probably true for the medusas. If his 

 observation that there is a sudden rise in den- 

 sity as we go down through the intermediate 

 layers, where sinking organic debris would 

 tend to accumulate, be extended to the oceans 

 as a whole, it must be one of the most im- 

 portant factors in the ecology of the meso- 

 plankton. In this connection, of course, it is 

 neither salinity nor specific gravity reduced 

 to a standard temperature which is required, 

 but the density of the water at the tempera- 

 ture in situ. 



Among the mass of surface forms Dr. Hjort 

 mentions especially the transparent fish 

 larvas, 90 per cent, of which were secured 

 within 150 meters of the surface; of special 

 interest being the occurrence there of pale 

 larvae of the black Gonostoma elongatum, and 

 of deep-sea maerurids. On the other hand, 

 the larvae of other deep-water forms were 

 taken at about the same bathymetrie levels as 

 the adults. In these eases the larvae are not 

 transparent, but show the pigmentation of the 

 adult. Their color and vertical occurrence 

 are correlated from the earliest stages. 



The notes on horizontal distribution are 

 valuable. Thus the captures have extended 

 the ranges of several " rare " deep-water forms 

 to practically the whole north Atlantic; 

 others, however, especially several species of 

 Gyclothone, seem to be limited to southern 

 regions. The three centers of abundance for 

 transparent young fish were south of the 

 Azores, west of the Canaries, and off the 

 Newfoundland bank. Among them many in- 

 teresting stalked-eyed forms were taken, and 

 large series of Leptocephali of at least 20 

 species.' 



Finally we have an account of the trawl- 



^ Some of these, the larvs of the European eel, 

 have been described in an earlier paper {Nature, 

 November 24, 1910). 



ings. As yet the material is only partially 

 worked up; and as the results may be ex- 

 pected to be of great general interest, it is 

 best to delay our review of them till the final 

 account appears, merely pointing out here the 

 uniformity of the fish fauna at 500 fathoms, 

 from the Wyville Thomson ridge to the 

 Canaries, as opposed to its great diversity in 

 shallow water. The work also supported 

 earlier conclusions that there are some species 

 of fishes and invertebrates south of the ridge 

 separating the Atlantic from the Norwegian 

 Sea, not found north of it, and vice versa. 



In conclusion, every student of oceanic 

 phenomena owes a debt of gratitude to 

 Dr. Hjort and to Sir John Murray for the 

 well-planned and successfully executed opera- 

 tions of the expedition. The methods em- 

 ployed deserve to be, and will be generally, 

 adopted. To those of us who have partici- 

 pated in deep-sea investigation, it is a revela- 

 tion that so much and such good work could 

 be done from a vessel of only 226 tons, and 

 that financial obstacle need no longer loom so 

 large as it has in the past. 



As Dr. Hjort points out, the Atlantic is 

 still a " fruitful field for future investigation 

 into the pelagic life of the ocean " ; and he 

 has himself opened many attractive vistas to 

 other students. 



Henry B. Bigelow 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 

 Dr. Abraham Jacobi, emeritus professor in 

 Columbia University, was elected president 

 of the American Medical Association, at the 

 meeting held last week at Los Angeles. 



Professor William G. Eaymond, head of 

 the department of civil engineering and dean 

 of the College of Applied Science at the State 

 University of Iowa, has been elected president 

 of the Society for the Promotion of Engi- 

 neering Education. 



Harvard University has conferred the doc- 

 torate of letters on Dr. Josiah Eoyce, pro- 

 fessor of philosophy, and the degree of master 

 of arts on Dr. William B. Coley, professor of 

 clinical surgery in Cornell Medical College, 



