62 NOTICE. 



necessary material. I accordingly applied to the Admiralty to give instructions to 

 the medical officer in charge at Ascension, to procure an additional supply of specimens ; 

 and I have to thank their Lordships for the readiness with which they acceded, to this 

 request. Dr Maclean, who had been one of the medical officers on board the Challenger, 

 happened to be stationed at Ascension at the time, and he brought an amount of 

 knowledge and goodAvill to the task which soon suj)plied our wants. I am glad that 

 one of Dr Parker's important Memoirs should form part of our Report. 



In regard to the Challenger Expedition, shore-fishes were much in the position 

 of land birds or mammals, or other groups which lay beyond our special province. At 

 most of the ports where we remained for any length of time there were numerous 

 European residents, and opportunities were ample for supplying museums at home 

 at a small cost. It was, therefore, only when we stopped for a time at remote 

 places, such as St Paul's Rocks or the Admiralty Islands, that we took special pains to 

 bring together as many fishes as possible. The collection of shore-fishes is accordingly 

 comparatively small. Owing to the successful use of the deep-sea trawl during the 

 voyage, and the attention which has been paid to the matter by Mr Murray, the 

 pelagic and abyssal fishes form one of the most interesting parts of our collection. 

 This series will also be described by Dr Giinther. 



The Memoirs which appear in this temporary volume are naturally among the 

 shorter and more easily prepared. Some of the more important monographs are in 

 type, and almost ready for publication ; while a few others, some of which will each 

 occupy two entire volumes, cannot be finished for some time. 



C. Wy. T. 



