210 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



As representative examples of the series of hauls 

 taken at the two offshore stations (I and II) early in April 

 we give here copies of our Forms 10 and 12. These are 

 both localities in the open sea, well out from the land, 

 about five miles apart, and under, so far as can be seen, 

 practically the same influences and conditions. They 

 exemplify several points we wish to elaborate, viz., 

 a certain amount of similarity between the surface hauls, 

 the weighted net at ten fathoms showing as a rule a larger 

 catch than the surface nets, and the Nan sen vertical 

 bringing up more than the liensen. But the point we 

 specially wish to illustrate from these Forms is that the 

 plankton fauna on these two occasions had a similar 

 character, although the numerical results may be far 

 from agreeing. The total Diatoms at Station I are over 

 twelve millions and at Station II over seventeen ; in each 

 case it is the Nansen net that caught the millions both of 

 Chaetoceros and of Thalassiosira. The total Copepoda at 

 Station I is 1,534 and at Station II 2,247, but the 

 numbers in the case of some of the species are of the same 

 " order " on the two Forms — Calanus is in units, Centro- 

 pages and Anomalocera in tens and Acartia in hundreds 

 in each case. 



Finalty, the conclusion one comes to from the 

 inspection of these Forms is that much the same 

 organisms are present in somewhat similar proportions; 

 so that although it is possible to discuss the general 

 character of the fauna and the relative abundance of 

 different groups, it is not possible to use the numbers as 

 the basis of calculations as to the quantity of any group, 

 or of living things as a whole, in any large area of the 

 sea at a particular time — the results arrived at might 

 easily be 50 per cent, wrong in either direction. 



To show — what will be readily admitted by all who 



