146 
MR. I. C. THOMPSON ON THE COPEPODA OP 
In this solution the colours (and they are very varied in the 
Copepoda) are well preserved, and the tissues are rendered 
sufficiently transparent for observation under the microscope 
without further treatment. 
We longed to cast a tow-net while traversing the fifteen hundred 
miles of Atlantic waters that intervened before reaching our first 
destination, Madeira, and improvised a long tough canvas bag, 
weighted, with a wide-necked bottle at the bottom end, for the 
purpose ; but the speed of the vessel was too great to allow of 
any captures. The mails could not give way to the study of 
biology, so our genial captain would not allow any temporary 
stoppage ; but the death of a poor fireman on the fourth day 
out necessitating a funeral pause of a few minutes, we took 
advantage of the opportunity by getting a haul ; and the tow-net 
brought up sufficient to occupy us and relieve the monotony of 
the rest of the voyage. The haul was almost entirely composed 
of Copepoda: Calanus finmarchicus , Centropages typicus and 
C. bracJiiatus, Dias longiremis, and a few other species, nearly all 
found on our British coasts. 
The deep-blue transparent waters of Madeira proved very 
fruitful both in number and variety of Copepoda, Puncbal Bay 
being our hunting-ground during two visits. Thence to Teneriffe, 
where we anchored for a few hours in the Santa Cruz harbour, 
and, as at Madeira, collected enough Copepoda to occupy us 
many months in examining and working out. 
Grrand Canary was our next destination, and there we spent 
many days dredging, collecting, and tow-netting at various parts 
of the island. The absence of any shelter or harbour at Las 
Palmas rendered dredging difficult, for we had to take eight 
men to manage the boat, the sea being seldom at all smooth. 
And, from some cause or other, the tow-netting results obtained 
here were certainly much poorer than those of the more shel- 
tered bays of Madeira and Teneriffe. 
Returning to Teneriffe, we crossed the island from Santa Cruz 
to Orotava, grandly situated on the north side directly under 
the Peak, and famous for its splendid climate and scenery. "We 
found the waters of the ocean here very plentiful in Copepoda, 
and on various occasions collected a large amount of them. One 
of these occasions was long after sunset, and it is worthy of note 
that the Copepoda then taken were little different in point of 
number or species from those taken in daylight, although with 
