52 LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
was also engaged to assist the keeper in the work ot 
looking after the station and boat, and of attending to the 
biologists who visited the island. 
The biological station was now fairly established, and 
during the remainder of the summer work of various kinds 
was going on steadily. Members of the committee and 
other scientific men visited the station for periods varying 
from a day or two to a week or two at atime. During 
these visits the shores of the island were explored at low 
tides, tow-nettings and dredgings were taken in the neigh- 
bourhood when practicable, and the animals collected were 
examined and classified in the laboratory. At other times 
the keeper, when his other duties and the weather per- 
mitted, collected specimens by dredging and tow-netting, 
and on the shore. These he preserved and labelled with 
locality and date, and either stored in the laboratory or 
sent to University College, Liverpool, as required. 
Shore collecting on Puffin Island on a summer morning, 
with a low ebb tide, is most delightful work. The 
naturalist explores the deep crevices and pools in the 
limestone reefs, lifts up or turns over the smaller of the 
detached fragments of rock and creeps under the larger 
ones, peering curiously into all the corners and crannies, 
and probably oblivious of the pool in which he has placed 
his knees and of the stream of drops which is trickling 
down the back of his neck. He sees covering the lower 
surface of the stones and festooning the rock delicate 
sprays of beautifully shaped Zoophytes, elaborately sculp- 
tured Polyzoa, and masses of incrusting Sponges with 
gorgeous colouring. He sees strange looking masses of 
Ascidians, which if incautiously touched suddenly emit 
two tiny jets of water, thus vindicating their claim to the 
title of ‘‘ sea-squirts.”” These and various other marine 
animals—especially the sea-anemones and the Nudi- 
