SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



A CELEBRATED OCEANOGRAPHIST. 



By John T. Carrington. 



T T falleth not to the lot of many men to have 

 means available for equipping an ocean-going 

 steamer to conduct thalassographic explorations 

 at one's own expense. Such, however, was the 

 subject of a recent paper read before the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society 

 of London by 

 His Serene High- 

 ness the Prince 

 of Monaco, whose 

 success as an in- 

 vestigator of the 

 mysteries of 

 oceanography 

 and marine bio- 

 logy are so well 

 known. 



Albert Honore 

 Charles Goyon- 

 de-Matignon- 

 Grimaldi, Prince 

 of Monaco, was 

 born at Paris, on 

 November 13th, 

 1848, and suc- 

 ceeded to rule 

 in 1889. The 

 Grimaldi family, 

 originally of 

 Genoese extrac- 

 tion, have held 

 what now consti- 

 tutes the Princi- 

 pality of Monaco 

 for upwards of 



nine hundred years. The line of sovereigns, 

 though at present reigning over no more than 

 some eight square miles of territory, is one of the 

 longest in Europe. Considering the size of the State 

 its revenues are immensely rich, and being wholly 

 the private property of His Highness, the Prince 

 is enabled to indulge in such an expensive study. 

 The State is admirably managed, being most 

 perfectly kept, whilst the inhabitants are free from 

 any taxation. Situated in a sheltered bay, its salu- 

 brious climate enables the outdoor growth of 



June, 1898.— No. 49, Vol. V. 



His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco. 



numerous tropical palms and other plants that 

 fruit abundantly. The eucalyptus grows there to 

 full size, flowering and fruiting profusely, whilst 

 many rare South European plants occur on the 

 rocky crags overlooking the Mediterranean littoral. 



Being so pictur- 

 esquely situated 

 it is not surpris- 

 ing that almost 

 every parcel of 

 available land is 

 occupied by 

 gardens and fine 

 houses. For the 

 lover of nature 

 there is still a con- 

 siderable amount 

 of broken ground 

 for observation of 

 botany and ento- 

 mology. 



Living in such 

 a lovely place for 

 much of each 

 year of his life, 

 it is not to be 

 wondered that 

 the Prince should 

 have cultivated 

 the study of 

 nature. Nearly 

 every summer for 

 eight or ten years 

 past he has made 

 at least one voy- 

 age of oceanic exploration. His present vessel, 

 the " Princess Alice," was built on the Thames 

 especially for the purpose of scientific investiga- 

 tion of the floor of deep seas. It is fitted with 

 laboratories, there being also accommodation for 

 the scientific staff and artists employed. In this 

 work the Prince forms an excellent example to 

 the many rich men who content themselves with 

 building magnificent vessels solely to win paltry 

 prizes in yacht races, or to loiter more or less 

 aimlessly on sunny seas. 



