05 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



nature. These samples have been collected as frequently as 

 possible during the greater part of the summer, and most of 

 them are from a locality about 10 miles West of the Chicken 

 Rock Lighthouse. On such occasions two gatherings of 

 plankton were obtained by means of a tow-net of fairly coarse 

 mesh, which was lowered in each case to the depth of the bottom 

 of the herring nets and was then hauled up slowly to the surface, 

 these plankton hauls being taken at the same time that the 

 herrings were being caught. Each herring sample consists of 

 the stomachs of ten fish taken at random from each haul and 

 preserved in formalin. 



Dr. Francis Ward paid a visit to the Biological Station, in 

 May and June, 1913, to confirm in the clear waters of the 

 Irish sea certain observations made in special tanks at Ipswich. 

 He wished also to study the appearance of numerous forms of 

 marine life, when viewed as if from below the surface of the 

 water, and lastly to trace the connection as a concealing 

 factor — if it existed — between the electric blue pigmentation 

 seen on such marine forms as Homarus vulgaris, Portunus 

 puber, etc., when these crustaceans are seen from below the 

 surface, and the blue reflection from various red-brown 

 sea-weeds, e.g., Chondrus, when these sea-weeds are seen 

 against a dark surface with the top light cut off. 



A special tank was arranged at the back of the station, 

 and in this was built up an artificial rock-pool with natural 

 stones and weeds taken from the sea. Various anemones and 

 other forms of marine life were viewed in this tank from a 

 dark chamber at the sides. This enabled everything to be 

 seen by an entirely natural illumination. The great value of 

 white as a concealing factor among marine fauna was demon- 

 strated, the white anemone reflecting the colour of its 

 surroundings as soon as the top light was cut off. 



