MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 41 
_ time of most zoologists and geologists would be that whereas 
Darwin’s beautiful theory would certainly hold good for coral 
reefs growing on a sinking area, Murray’s explanation, based 
upon observations and ascertained facts, probably applies to 
many of the “ atolls’ and “barrier reefs’’ of tropical seas. 
But I have been led on to these more recent times by his 
paper of 1880. Let us now return to his work at the “ Challenger ” 
Office. During the last couple of years of Sir Wyville 
Thomson’s life, when he was more or less of an invalid, Mr. John 
Murray (as he then was) came gradually to take over more 
and more the complete charge of affairs at the “Challenger ” 
Office, including the distribution of the groups of animals to 
specialists and the editing of the volumes of reports. It was 
very fortunate for zoological science that such a man was on 
the staff, ready to take up and carry out to a successful issue 
the work that Sir Wyville Thomson was no longer able to 
continue. Murray brought to the task a complete knowledge 
of all that had to be done and how best to do it, along with an 
extraordinary amount of zeal and energy. During the years 
that followed, until the completion of the work, he seemed to 
be doing several men’s work. He was in constant communica- 
tion, both by correspondence and personal visits, with all the 
authors of Reports in various parts of Europe and America ; 
he had frequent dealings with the Government departments 
concerned in the production of the work; and all the time 
he was also himself investigating some of the great general 
problems of Oceanography. It is difficult to imagine that any 
other man than John Murray could have carried through all 
this mass of detailed and difficult work and have produced the 
fifty thick 4to volumes within twenty years of the return of the 
expedition. About five of these large volumes are the result 
of Murray’s own work. Along with Stafl-Commander T. H. 
Tizard, the late Professor H. N. Moseley, and Mr. J. Y. © 
Buchanan, he drew un the general “Narrative of the 
