SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 75 



stone's section of the Keport at p. 104, and the various 

 stages are illustrated by two plates. I have also started 

 Mr. Johnstone on an investigation of the structure of our 

 edible Cockle, and hope in next year's Eeport to publish 

 his full detailed account of that animal. 



Our travelling "Fisheries Exhibition" is working its 

 way through the more important towns of the county. 

 At the beginning of March, 1898, after a very successful 

 period at Liverpool, when ifc was repeatedly visited by 

 many interested in the subject, the exhibition was trans- 

 ferred to the Eoyal Museum, Salford, where it remained 

 till the end of October. In the meantime, a circular was 

 issued from the County Offices, Preston, stating that this 

 Fisheries Exhibition might be obtained on loan, on certain 

 terms to meet the expenses of packing, unpacking, re- 

 arranging, and carriage. Applications were received from 

 the Museums of Preston, Warrington, Bolton, and St. 

 Helens ; and early in November the exhibition was trans- 

 ferred to the Harris Free Museum at Preston, where 

 it will remain for some months. The transference of the 

 cases and collections (which have to be very carefully 

 packed and unpacked) from one institution to another 

 occupies Mr. Johnstone, with the assistance of T. Mercer 

 and a joiner, for about a fortnight, and it occasionally 

 happens that there are specimens which become accident- 

 ally broken or damaged, or for some other reason require 

 to be replaced from the Laboratory, and re-labelling is 

 sometimes necessary. All this, and the correspondence 

 connected therewith, has taken up a not inconsiderable 

 part of our Liverpool Assistants' time during the past 

 year ; but I think we are all agreed that it is well worth 

 doing. The collection, it will be remembered, was 

 originally formed for the Fisheries Exhibition at the 

 Imperial Institute in 1897, and as it mainly illustrates 



