1897.] Unwritten History of the Naples Zoological Station. 965 
ment at Berlin began to exert its influence upon the powers of 
Italy. Long before this, however, Dohrn was back in Naples, 
where, upon his return, matters were even more unpromising 
than upon his departure. Soon the results of diplomacy be- 
gan to make themselves felt, while Dr. Dohrn used his own 
influence with the officers of the city. Soon he had won to 
his side a member of the clerical party, and in a short time 
every obstacle on the part of the municipality was removed. 
The building was at last completed and the time came to 
turn the water into the huge aquarial tanks, which have since 
proved such an attraction in the station. Here was more 
trouble. In Naples when a water-proof surface is needed itis 
the custom to use, instead of cement, a kind of volcanic earth 
beaten tightly together with rammers. So the builders used 
this for the bottom of the tanks regardless of the fact that they 
were to withstand salt water instead of fresh, and this some 
feet, instead of a few inches, in depth. The water poured 
through these bottoms in streams. This part of the work had 
to be done over again. 
At last the station was opened and students began to come. 
There was a demand for such a place and the station fulfilled 
the demands made upon it as no other institution could. Yet 
it lived from hand to mouth, and many were the desirable 
features which must be omitted from the lack of funds. The 
whole was started, but it was far from the ideal station which 
its director had in mind. It was at this juncture that the 
German Embassador to the Italian Government visited the 
station. He was pleased with all that he saw and impressed 
with the needs of the enterprise. “I think” said he, “that 
the difficulties are not insuparable,” and shortly after, as a 
result of his representations to the German Government, 
backed as they were by the endorsement of Virchow, DuBois 
Reymond and Helmholz, the Reichstag granted an annual 
subsidy of $40,000 to the Naples Zoological Station. 
