8 ANNUAL EEPORT OF THE 



and for pelagic work, we take a diamond drill outfit, and hope to 

 find a suitable locality for boring on the rim of one of the atolls 

 of the Fijis. The boring machinery will be in charge of an expert 

 sent by the Sullivan Machine Company, from whom this machinery 

 was obtained. The Directors of the Bache Fund have made a 

 large grant towards the expenses of this boring experiment. 



I am also indebted to Professor Brandt of Kiel for superintend- 

 ing for me the construction of a deep-sea self-closing townet, such 

 as was used in the " National " Expedition. Dr. Richard, of Paris, 

 sent me a modified Giesbrecht net, such as is used by the Prince of 

 Monaco on the " Princess Alice," and Dr. A. Dohrn kindly deputed 

 Dr. Giesbrecht to send me one of the Giesbrecht nets from the 

 Naples Station. These, together with the old and new styles of 

 Tanner net, which we take with us, as well as a self-closing net 

 adopted by Mr. Townsend of the " Albatross," which he was kind 

 enough to have made for me, will give us the means of comparing 

 these different styles of deep-sea townets, and of testing their 

 comparative efficiency under similar circumstances. 



Thanks to the kind offices of the State Department at Washing- 

 ton, we carry letters to the Governor of the Fijis from the Foreign 

 Office in London. 



I have to thank specially Admiral Wharton, R. N., Hydrographer 

 of the Admiralty, for his assistance and counsel in regard to our 

 visit to the islands, and also Captain W. 0. Moore, R. N., for his 

 kindness in placing at my disposal his experience and the infor- 

 mation he acquired while surveying the Fijis. I must also mention 

 the late Sir John B. Thurston, Governor General of the Fijis, who 

 from the first conception of the expedition took the deepest interest 

 in our success. We shall greatly miss his advice, and the knowl- 

 edge he had gathered during the long period of his administration 

 in that part of the South Sea Islands. 



Mr. Theodore Lyman, one of the most efficient and devoted 

 friends of the Museum, died at Nahant on the 9th of September, 

 1897. Withdrawn since 1885, by reason of failing health, from 

 any active share in the affairs of the Museum, he nevertheless was 

 and must ever remain identified with its history. The regret for 

 his absence, always deeply felt by his colleagues, made a blank in 

 their ranks which his death only accentuates. Not only did they 

 value him for his personal acquirements, and for his sympathy 

 with the general interests of the Museum, but also for his genial 



