658 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. No. 434 



vantages derived from the offshore currents. My 

 belief is strong that we have reached the point 

 in our zoological studies when it is necessary to 

 provide investigators with working facilities at a 

 number of conspicuous faunal points along our 

 coasts, and I think that there could be no better 

 move in this direction than by the establishment 

 of a station in the locality you suggest." 



Bashfoed Dean. 



" I highly approve of the plan of establishing 

 a laboratory in this or a similar locality, as part 

 of a general plan of a series of stations on the 

 Atlantic coast in the centers of the successive 

 Atlantic faunae. 



" The station would certainly be of great 

 practical service to many American zoologists, and 

 I would hope to make some use of it personally. 

 It appears to me that such a station should be 

 open throughout the year; in this way it would 

 best supplement the uses of the more northern sta- 

 tions, which are principally summer stations. 

 At present there is no opportunity in this country 

 for marine work in the late fall, the winter and 

 the early spring, and I am very sure that in a 

 short time, when the advantages of the location 

 became known, the station would have numerous 

 visitors during these portions of the year. So 

 far as the fauna differs from that in the vicinity 

 of more northern stations, the location would pos- 

 sess advantages for special vrorkers at all sea- 

 sons." 



Frank E. Lillib. 



" Your letter asking my opinion regarding the 

 establishment of a marine biological laboratory 

 for research at the Dry Tortugas has been received. 



" In reply I will say that I am enthusiastically 

 in favor of the plan. As you know, I have some 

 personal knowledge of the Tortugas as a field for 

 biological work, having spent some time there with 

 a party from this university, and I have frequently 

 expressed the opinion that it is the best place for 

 a laboratory that I know of on the eastern coast 

 of the United States. It has several advantages 

 that seem to me to be unique, and no very serious 

 disadvantage, now thiit the quarantine station has 

 been removed. 



" If such a station were established I am sure 

 that it would be of practical advantage to me and 

 to students from this university. 



" Of course a good deal depends upon the plan 

 that is adopted. I am not informed as to whether 

 you have formulated any definite plan. If you 

 have, I would be glad to know of it, and would 

 like to have this university have some share in the 



matter. Of course I can promise nothing officially, 

 but it seems to me that the state universities 

 of the west could be led to see the great service 

 that such a station might be made to render them. 

 The Tortugas are no farther than the New Eng- 

 land coast, so far as western institutions are 

 concerned, and the faunse of the two are not com- 

 parable, so great is the advantage of the Tortugas 

 over the North Atlantic coast. 



" I would be glad to help in the furtherance of 

 your plan in any way that I can. Please keep 

 me advised as to progress." 



C. C. Nutting. 



" Your inquiry regarding the advisability of the 

 proposition depends upon the standpoint of the 

 individual for its reply. The pracUcal question 

 is whether sufficient funds can be secured for the 

 proper establishment of the laboratory, and this 

 is a problem which will color a reply to the sub- 

 sequent questions, for I do not believe that a 

 poorly equipped or otherwise unsatisfactory labo- 

 ratory would be of any very great advantage to 

 the country at large, however much it might be 

 useful for the few workers who under such condi- 

 tions might spend a short time at it. 



"I have prefaced my remarks by this statement 

 for the reason that so many projects have been 

 entered upon in this country without means for 

 putting them into satisfactory operation, and with 

 th6 result that they have been of comparatively 

 limited value. 



" Reverting now to the specific questions pro- 

 posed, and replying to them simply from the sci- 

 entific standpoint, and without regard to the prac- 

 tical questions of access as well as support as 

 mentioned above, I may say as follows: The loca- 

 tion appears to me as peculiarly fortunate for 

 the investigation of marine biology and as offer- 

 ing better possibilities in prospect than any of 

 which I know in this country. I can foresee that 

 the station would be of much practical value to 

 the covmtry at large. Whether, considering the 

 distance of Nebraska from the ocean and the ex- 

 pense incident to the trip, it would be possible for 

 me individually or for my students to take ad- 

 vantage of the opportunities offered I can hardly 

 say in advance. I know from the way in which 

 your article was discussed in our zoological 

 seminar that no project has appealed more 

 strongly to its members than precisely this one. 

 I feel as if it were time that we had a satisfactory 

 subtropical laboratory, and I know of no place 

 which would be superior to the location you sug- 

 gest." 



Heney B. Waed. 



