568 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. Xo. 537. 



logue, even in its present condition, has 

 already proved its usefulness. 



During the summer, Messrs. Max Morse, 

 D. W. Davis and some of the other assist- 

 ants completed, as far as was then prac- 

 ticable, the search for published data. The 

 Reports and Bulletins of the U. S. Fish 

 Commission, the Transactions of the Con- 

 necticut Academy of Sciences, the Biolog- 

 ical Bulletin, the American Naturalist and 

 the Journal of Morphology, together with 

 the large collection of reprints contained 

 in the library at the station, were systemat- 

 ically searched, and all relevant facts, even 

 incidental references to the ecology of local 

 species, were recorded. In all 84 papers 

 were found to contain information of the 

 sort desired, in addition to those abstracted 

 during the preceding year. 



There must also be mentioned a most 

 valuable set of 113 cards in possession of 

 the Marine Biological Laboratory, and 

 kindly loaned by Dr. F. R. Lillie for in- 

 corporation into the present catalogue sys- 

 tem. These cards record personal observa- 

 tions by various well-known investigators 

 Avho have been connected with the Marine 

 Biological Laboratory in past years. In 

 addition, several zoologists generously pre- 

 pared during the summer extensive sets of 

 notes upon groups to which they had given 

 especial attention. Mr. Lynds Jones fur- 

 nished data relating to 104 species of 

 marine and shore birds of the neighbor- 

 hood ; Professor Chas. B. Wilson furnished 

 a set dealing with fifty species of parasitic 

 copepods ; Dr. W. R. Coe contributed notes 

 relating to 32 local nemerteans and Dr. J. 

 P. Moore prepared records of 25 species of 

 polychajta. In addition valuable notes 

 were received from Dr. A. L. Treadwell 

 and Dr. Louis Murbach, dealing with 

 polychgeta and medusre respectively. 



It is needless to add that the data de- 

 rived from the collecting work in progress 



will be incorporated as soon as they are 

 made available. 



IV. INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATIONS. 



Robert L. Baird, assistant in zoology and 

 geology, Oberlin College, carried on experi- 

 ments in the endeavor to determine the 

 presence of sense of smell in Fundulus, to 

 differentiate that sense from the sense of 

 taste, and to ascertain the importance of 

 the sense of smell to the fish in its life 

 habits, especially in obtaining food. 



E. N. Carter, superintendent U. S. Fish- 

 eries Station, St. Johnsbury, Vt., com- 

 menced experiments with view to testing 

 the effect of temperature at the time of 

 fertilization upon the subsequent develop- 

 ment of fish eggs. 



Leon J. Cole, Austin teaching fellow in 

 zoology. Harvard University, assisted in 

 the work of the biological survey, having 

 supervision of the dredging operations of 

 the Fish Hawk in Buzzards Bay. 



Winterton C. Curtis, Ph.D., assistant pro- 

 fessor of zoology, University of Missouri, 

 was employed by the bureau to conduct ex- 

 periments with a view to determining the 

 life history of certain parasites of fishes. 

 The attempt was made to find some treat- 

 ment by which the ' sand shark, ' Carcharias 

 I iti oralis, could be freed of the cestode 

 Crossohothrium laciniatum, which with 

 rare exceptions infests the spiral valve of 

 this fish. The ' oil of male fern, ' commonly 

 used as a vermifuge in veterinary and hu- 

 man practise, was tried and proved quite 

 effective. In all some 56 sharks were sub- 

 jected to the treatment with this drug and 

 of these there were 38 survivors, of which 

 26 Avere without any infection, the remain- 

 ing 12 being infected with C. laciniatum 

 in much smaller numbers than one would 

 expect to find in any untreated specimens. 

 The 18 non-surviving specimens, of which 

 some Avere killed because they seemed to be 



