Sea-side Study on the Coast of California. 37 
time two marine stations will arise on this coast, in which case the 
Bay of Monterey and either San Diego' or Santa Barbara might 
well be chosen. 
There are several desiderata which influences the marine zodlogist 
in his choice of a working place upon any shore. The first, per- 
haps the most important one, is whether the collecting is good, 
whether there are many animals at the place recommended. ‘This 
is an all important, but it is by no means the only question, Of 
what use is it to a naturalist if he can stand on a wharf and see a 
wealth of surface life float by and can get no boat to collect it? 
This might seem an absurd condition on the coast of New England 
where every coast hamlet has so many boats; but I have been in a 
considerable village on the coast of California where one or two 
large, undesirable boats were the only boat facilities of the place. 
In Santa Barbara, which has the reputation of being a boating 
place, you can count on your two hands the number of small boats 
for rent. Several conditions have brought about this result. In 
most places the wharf is built out from a beach on which the surf 
is continually breaking. There is no protection for boats, and the 
fondness of the New England coast people for the water is not 
known. Although so many strangers come to Santa Barbara, there 
are few pleasure boats and no skippers. Compare this condition 
with the wharfs, for instance, at Newport or Eastport. 
It is not alone necessary for the marine zodlogist that he should 
have a good collecting ground and a boat, but he must be able to 
reach the coast easily. If he studies animals alive his laboratory 
must be on the shore, for pure water must be continually supplied, 
and the live animals of the fragile nature of many marine creatures 
cannot be carried for long distances without harm. It is best if his 
laboratory is as near as possible to the water. The New England 
fishing towns, many of which arose as fishing hamlets, lie upon the 
very shore, and accommodations are easily found to satisfy the 
haturalist’s wants. That is not always the case, however, in towns 
Which have originated like those of California, The holy fathers 
Who were the founders of Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz did not 
look to the sea for a livelihood. The first settlers were not fisher- 
* Unfortunately, circumstances prevented my spending any time at 
San Diego in the study of surface animals or in dredging. I confess my 
ignorance of its advantages, which from what I could learn from others 
and my own superficial examination of the neighboring coast, must be 
very great. 
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