MAEINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 71 



and fish embryos, was fully explained. Since then the 

 work has been going on actively, and now at the end of 

 about twelve months one thousand drift bottles in all 

 have been set free. Many have been let out at intervals 

 of ten minutes, or quarter of an hour, or twenty minutes 

 (corresponding to distances of from 3 to 6 miles apart) 

 from the Isle of Man boats when crossing between 

 Liverpool and Douglas — a very convenient line of 75 

 miles across the middle of the widest part of our area, 

 traversing the " head of the tide " or meeting place of the 

 tidal currents entering by St. George's Channel and the 

 North Channel. Others have been let off from Mr. 

 Alfred Holt's steamers, in going round from Liverpool to 

 Holyhead and in coming down from Greenock. Mr. 

 Dawson on the Fisheries steamer "John Fell" has 

 distributed a number along the coast in various parts of 

 the district, and the Fisheries bailiffs have let off some 

 dozens from their small boats. Other series have been 

 set free at stated intervals during the rise and fall of the 

 tide from the Morecambe Bay Light Vessel in the 

 northern part of our area, north of the " head of the tide; " 

 and, through the kindness of Lieutenant M. Sweny, R.N., 

 a similar periodic distribution has taken place from the 

 Liverpool North-West Light Vessel, to the south of the 

 " head of the tide." Others, finally, have been despatched 

 by Mr. R. L. Ascroft, by Mr. Andrew Scott and by various 

 members of the Committee in other parts of the area 

 from small boats and on our dredging expeditions, in some 

 cases between the Isle of Man and Ireland. Altogether 

 we have pretty well covered this northern area of the 

 Irish Sea in our distribution of floating bottles. 



The first bottles, and the printed paper they contained, 

 were described last year. We afterwards adopted a 

 rather larger size of bottle, 8" 5 cm. in length ; and, after 



