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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



PRACTICAL HINTS ON MARINE ZOOLOGY 



By Professor A. C. H addon. 



I —SHORE COLLECTING. 



HP HERE is no branch of Natural History more 

 interesting than the study of marine life, not 

 only on account of the wealth and variety of the 

 animal forms, but also from the pleasurable sur- 

 roundings ; for, as a general rule, those conditions 

 of coast which give rise to beautiful scenery are 

 just those which afford a good hunting-ground for 

 the naturalist. 



This is not the place to dilate on the zest to life 

 which is given by the sea-swept breeze, or to recall 

 scenes of sparkling crisp waves, or of the sky and 

 '-.-- — irr:ref :r a silen: sea an: ire air ryriverhrg 

 with heat. The gentle lapping of the water or the 

 scent of dried tangle of sea-weed and zoophytes 

 avahers vari: — err :r:es :f harpy hrrrs ::' hliger: 

 search, or of, perhaps, equally profitable idling. 



The marvellous variety of life in the sea is at the 

 same time one of the fascinations and dif fi culties of 

 marine zoology. Nearly every group of animals is 

 not only represented in the sea, but far better so 

 than :r :he land This is the — :re strrprisrrg 

 when we consider the uniform conditions of marine 

 existence, a; ::rrparei vith the great diversity and 

 constant changes of the land surface and its 

 climate. The charm of novelty is especially 

 characteristic of marine zoology ; we can never be 

 sure what will turn up next, and when something 

 does turn up the question is, what is it ? Then 

 -comes the excitement of trying to identify it, and 

 the delight of being right, or the pleasure of 

 increased knowledge gained by hunting up its name 

 and finding out all we can about it. No kind of 

 collecting teaches us so much general zoology as 

 does this; but then there is the corresponding 

 danger of becoming desultory. The two chief 

 drawbacks to marine zoology are the dirf :rl:y :: 

 identifying the spetirrers ana the trttfrle :: pre- 

 serving them. 



I r:v pr:p :se :: give a fev hir:s :r ha: vhere 

 vher, and h;v :: mile::, ard :;■ ;; ran e ard 

 r reserve y:rr sre::mers 



First of all, it is necessary to determine what to 

 collect. If you are bent on acquiring general 

 irmrm a:i:r, y;r — as: bring a. — e very area 

 material. I generally take with me large-mouthed 

 pickle jars ara I rave :':;:.: a mmm.r galvanize! 

 iron bucket very useful, as it will contain a 

 considerable volume of water, which will keep 

 most of the animals pretty lively and fresh. 

 When collecting, I always make a practice of 

 changing the water in my receptacles several times. 

 First of all, I thoroughly rinse the vessels, and fill 

 them with the purest water I can find ; then it is 



well, during the middle of the hunt, to glance over 

 the captures and to change the water in any vessel 

 which is at all crowded ; and, lastly, before leaving 

 for home, every tube and receptacle should be 

 refilled with pure water. Besides having pure 

 water, it is necessary to keep the water cool ; to do 

 this, one must, as far as possible, keep everything 

 in the shade; if you do not mind appearances, a 

 white enamelled slop pail is a very efficient 

 receptacle, as the lid keeps off the rays of the sun 

 when no shelter is available ; I have found this 

 - ----- rsefrl ir :he :r:r::s. I: is veil :: re a.. ays 



provided with a number of glass corked tubes and 

 small bottles, in order that the rarer and more 

 delicate forms may be isolated and kept in better 

 condition ; these may be kept cool by letting them 

 float in the bucket of water. Avoid overcrowding, 

 especially if you have any distance to travel home. 

 Pre : :::le = si: : rid invariably re - :de-m : rtbei. 



At home you should be provided with a supply of 

 fresh, pure sea-water ; this is best collected when the 

 tide is coming in, and no animals should be kept 

 in it ; also it is necessary to have some pans — glass 

 milk-rams are very convenient, or deep porcelain 

 photographic developing dishes will do nicely ; 

 :::er rave Z re:ris::::red me hrmfle pie-dish 

 :r srup-plate. These pans are for two purposes, 

 either for the immediate sorting of the material, 

 :r a; ratum ara ready armaria ir vlriir sea-beasts 

 can be kept alive far a longer or shorter period, 

 amtrdirg m rneir hardihmd. ara the :are vhmh 

 is bestowed on them. These store-pans should be 

 continually examined, as carious little creatures 

 crawl from their lurking-places from time to time 

 b:;r mhervise v;rla rave escaped rrrmited 

 5:me s mmmr rrarire arirrals are s: aalrrrleas 

 ar.r :rarsrarer: :ra: :re sr.ar:vs --rich they rast 

 vher :r aire:: srrlUh: are rr:re arrarer: :har 



never harrs heavy, arr ever ve: ray; ::rre as 

 a :::r far they re:e:;i:a:e a rr:re :arefrl ex- 

 amination of what you have collected, vrhereas 

 fine fays :emr: y;r :: r rller: ra:rr arf rr:re ar: 

 far ir e:.:ess ;: vha: y;r :ar pr:r:arly s:ray. 



If you are mcs: ir:eres:ea ir :re particular 

 group of a-imals you will naturally pay more 

 attention to this, but by r: means neglect others 



rer y:r ha"e :he :har;e :: seeirg :rerr alive 

 ana. so-to- speak, at home; it is time enough to 

 specialise ir the winter months or when only 

 preserved material is available. Remember that 

 naturalists should study nature, and nature is more 



