168 
IOWA ACADEMY OP SCIENCES. 
in individaais than in any other water in the world examined 
to determine quantity. And the number of forms of life is 
nearly twice as great as that in an equal amount of water from 
the great lakes or from the lakes of northern Germany. 
The station is located at the foot of Qaiver lake, a sheet of 
water separated from the chrmnel of the river by a low bar, 
about two miles up the river from Havana. A rented house- 
boat was used for two years from the time the station was 
opened in the spring of 1891. Last spring the laboratory was 
moved into a new boat specially designed and built for the 
station at a cost of $1,260. The new boat has a deck 20 by 60 
feet, on which is a cabin 16 by 56 feet, divided into an office for 
the laboratory staff, a main laboratory with a long tank and 
sink, shelves and tables for fifteen students, and a small kitchen. 
The laboratory equipment includes microscopes, reagents, etc., 
necessary for microscopic work; nets, dredges and seines for 
collecting, and working libraries. Three or four row boats 
belonging to the station are at the disposal of the workers. 
Besides these the station owns a 25-foot steam launch licensed 
to carry seventeen persons. 
One of the lines of work receiving especial attention is the 
determination of the plankton of the river, that work being 
done by the sup crintendent of the station. Besides the principal 
station there are seven sub- stations where the plankton is taken 
at stated intervals through the year. To collect the plankton 
a certain amount of water is pumped into a net of the finest silk; 
then careful determination of the quantity, species, and even 
numbers follows the collecting. 
The station has received for its support during the past two 
years the sum of $10,400 from the following sources: 
Appropriation April, 1894, from the University of Illinois $ 1,800 
Appropriation by last legislature for two years, expiring July 1, 
1897: Equipment 2,500 
Running expenses, $3,000 per year 6,000 
Income from fees 100 
Total.. $ 10,400 
Only a small number of students can be accommodated at 
present, but it is the earnest desire of the director. Dr. S. A. 
Forbes, to enlarge the facilities sufficiently to establish a sum- 
mer school of biology for the teachers of the secondary schools 
of the state. 
Is it not possible for Iowa to organize and conduct a station 
similar to that supported by the state of Illinois? Perhaps a 
