MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT POET ERIN. 67 



the temporary removal of the overflow pipe in the tank, 

 the hermit was overpowered by the current of water 

 rushing- into the drain-pipe, and drawn into the socket 

 into which the overflow pipe fits. Gentle efforts to 

 dislodge it were unavailing, and ere long the anemone 

 was torn from the Trochus shell, which formed the habitat 

 of the pair, and disappeared down the pipe. The hermit 

 now vacated the shell, which was eventually found to be 

 so firmly wedged that it had to be broken in order to 

 remove it. Another Trochus shell, about the size of the 

 broken one, was dropped into the tank, and in a short 

 time I had the satisfaction of seeing the hermit crab 

 comfortably settled in it. Two or three weeks later a 

 fisherman gave me another hermit, accompanied as usual 

 by the anemone, and the pair were put into the tank 

 occupied by the now partnerless old one. Much to my 

 astonishment, the latter immediately attacked the new- 

 comer, ejected it from its shell, and after carefully 

 exploring and probing the interior with its large claws, 

 proceeded to take possession. After crawling about the 

 tank for several days, the evicted tenant found another 

 shell, but did not long survive the rudely dissolved 

 partnership. 



In spite of rather cold and unsettled weather, our 

 Easter vacation students were able to carry on their work 

 with very little interruption. The number of students 

 who attended the Easter class for school teachers was not 

 large, but what was lacking in numbers was amply com- 

 pensated for by the enthusiasm with which each day s 

 work was done. In addition to the practical work in the 

 laboratory, shore collecting and townetting, several short 

 excursions to places of geological interest were conducted 

 by Professor Herdman and attended by all the students, 

 and a long and most successful day's dredging was done 



