146 



ME. I. C. THOMPSOT^T ON THE COPEPODA OP 



In this solution tlie colours (and they are very varied in the 

 Copepoda) are well preserved, and the tissues are rendered 

 sufficiently transparent for observation under the microscope 

 witliout further treatment. 



We longed to cast a tow-net while traversing the fifteen hundred 

 miles of Atlantic waters that intervened before reaching our first 

 destination, Madeira, and improvised a long tough canvas bag, 

 weighted, with a Mide-necked bottle at the bottom end, for the 

 purpose ; but the speed of the vessel was too great to allow of 

 any captures. The mails could not give way to the study of 

 biology, so our genial captain would not allow any temporary 

 stoppage; but the death of a poor fireman on the fourth day 

 out necessitating a funeral pause of a few minutes, we took 

 advantage of the opportunity by getting a haul ; and the tow-net 

 brought up sufficient to occupy us and relieve the monotony of 

 the rest of the voyage. The haul was almost entirely composed 

 of Copepoda: Calanus finmarcldciis, Centropages typicus and 

 C. hracMatus, Dias longiremis, and a few other species, nearly all 

 found on our British coasts. 



The deep-blue transparent waters of Madeira proved very 

 fruitful both in number and variety of Copepoda, Eunchal Bay 

 being our hunting-ground during two visits. Thence to Teneriffe, 

 where we anchored for a few hours in the Santa Cruz harbour, 

 and, as at Madeira, collected enough Copepoda to occupy us 

 many months in examining and working out. 



G-rand Canary was our next destination, and there we spent 

 many days dredging, collecting, and tow-netting at various parts 

 of the island. The absence of any shelter or harbour at Las 

 Palmas rendered dredging difficult, for we had to take eight 

 men to manage the boat, the sea being seldom at all smooth. 

 And, from some cause or other, the tow-netting results obtained 

 here were certainly much poorer than those of the more shel- 

 tered bays of Madeira and Teneriff'e. 



E-eturning to Teneriff'e, we crossed the island from Santa Cruz 

 to Orotava, grandly situjited on the north side directly under 

 the Peak, and famous for its splendid climate and scenery. "We 

 found the waters of the ocean here very plentiful in Copepoda, 

 and on various occasions collected a large amount of them. One 

 of these occasions was long after sunset, and it is worthy of note 

 that the Copepoda then taken were little diff'erent in point of 

 number or species from those taken in daylight, although with 



