444 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 
in the form of soil-inoculation, in the tracing of the sources 
of nitrates in the soil, and studies of the insects injurious to 
vegetation; their further application to practical forestry, 
and in sanitary sciences. This kind of research is also ap- 
plied to the study of food-supply for fishes, as in the case of 
Plankton studies. 
The Establishment and Maintenance of Biological Lab- 
oratories.—The establishment of seaside biological observa- 
tories and various other stations for research have had a great 
influence on the development of biology. The most famous 
biological station is that founded at Naples (Fig. 123) in 1872 
by Anton Dohrn, and it is a gratification to biologists to 
know that he still remains its director. This international 
station for research has stimulated, and is at present stim- 
ulating, the growth of biology by providing the best condi- 
tions for carrying on researches and by the distribution of 
material which has been put up at the seacoast by the most 
skilled preservators. There are many stations modeled 
after that at Naples. The Marine Biological Laboratory 
at Woods Holl, Mass., is of especial prominence, and 
the recently reorganized Wistar Institute of Anatomy at 
Philadelphia is making a feature of the promotion of ana- 
tomical researches, especially those connected with the anat- 
omy of the nervous system. 
Laboratories similar to those at the seaside have been 
established on several fresh-water lakes. The studies carried 
on in those places of the complete biology of lakes, taking 
into account the entire surroundings of organisms, are very 
interesting and important. 
Under this general head should be mentioned stations 
under the control of the Carnegie Institution, the various 
scientific surveys under the Government, and the United States 
Fish Commission, which carries on investigations in the bi- 
ology of fishes as well as observations that affect their use 
