from the Holyoke hatching establishment, a portion 

 were immediately transferred to hatching boxes in the 

 salt water where they died in a few hours, as did others 

 placed in a shade'd tub of salt water; others still were 

 kept in strongly brackish water, where they lived from 

 thirty to forty hours; some kept in brackish water a 

 few hours and then transferred to fresh water lived 

 about eighty hours. Could the fish have had Mr. 

 Mather's personal care for a longer time they would no 

 doubt have lived longer lives, for the water in the cars 

 was changed only three or four times a day, and parti- 

 ally at th^t. The experiment is quite satisfactory, how- 

 ever, showing; (1) That a sudden change from fresh to 

 salt water is impracticable. (2) That they can be kept 

 for some days in water which is very brackish. I ap 

 prehend little difficulty in accustoming them to salt 

 water by gradual and careful addition of salt water to 

 the fresh. The experiment has an important bearing 

 on Prof. Baird's .proposed transatlantic shipment of 

 young shad. 



The "Bluelight" has been busily employed by the 

 dredging party under charge of Prof. Verrill. Over 

 four hundred species of invertebrates have been noticed, 

 some forty of them new to the fauna. To-day in dredg- 

 ing off Watch Hill we struck a spot where, at eighteen 

 fathoms depth, the temperature was 57 degrees and the 

 bag came up full of northern forms, just such a haul as 

 we might have had in Casco Bay. 



The trawl was lowered and brought up at least fif- 

 teen hundred pounds of scrapings, requiring the whole 

 force to lift it over the rail. Among other things were 

 ninety-seven Clear-nosed Skates, twenty-one flat fisues, 

 two spotted turbots, two four spotted flounders, one 

 hake, three lump suckers, one cunner, ten skates eggs, 

 and aDproximately three bushels of sponges scollops 

 and sea urchins. 



Captain Beardslee is making a series of experiments 

 with the Miller Casella thermometers which have already 

 produced results of much importance. 



Our party continues to increase; Prof. Joseph Leidy of 

 Philadelphia and Dr. M. P. Hatfield .of Chicago have 

 recently arrived and Prof. Harrison Allen of Philadel- 

 phia and Dr. W. G. Farlow of Cambridge have visited 

 us during the past week. Frater Aquarius. 



Gw*j T.i*} V 



