No. 497] THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 325 



among those conducting investigations in the laboratory 

 during the past season. Among these are to be named 

 the Hon. K. Gupta, of Bengal, who was making a study 

 of American fisheries methods on behalf of his govern- 

 ment ; Messrs. G. Asaya and T. Miyake, who were seeking 

 information in regard to the local occurrence of the squid ; 

 and Professors W. A. Locy, Henry F. Nachtrieb and S. P. 

 Sigerfoos, who visited Woods Hole briefly at about the 

 time of the zoological congress. 



Carl L. Alsberg, M.D., instructor in biological chem- 

 istry, Harvard Medical School.— The greater part of Dr. 

 Alsberg 's work consisted in the collection and prepara- 

 tion for analysis of various marine animals which are 

 either not used, or little used, as foods in this country. 

 The complete analysis of such material was deferred until 

 the winter months, when better facilities for analytical 

 work would be available than it is possible to provide at 

 Woods Hole. The work actually done at Woods Hole 

 was to determine the water content of the different ma- 

 terials, as well as the proportion of soluble proteid, etc. 

 The other analyses are now being carried out in Boston. 

 As a result of this work, it has become evident that in 

 order to obtain reliable information concerning the food 

 value of many of these forms it is necessary to study the 

 extractives. As is well known, the extractives of ordi- 

 nary meats have but little food value. For some of the 

 lower forms, notably the dog fish, this is true to an even 

 greater degree, because this fish contains large quantities 

 of urea dissolved in the blood plasma and in the body 

 fluids. In order to arrive at a correct estimate of the 

 food value of such an animal, it is necessary to determine 

 by accurate methods the urea content, and perhaps also 

 that of the other extractives. Concerning the extractives 

 of other forms at present under investigation, for instance 

 the squid, nothing at all is known, and it will be necessary 

 to make a study of them before we can estimate the food 

 value of this mollusk. In addition to this line of work. 



