H.—ls

15

I arrived at Plymouth by the. R.M.S. " lonic "on the 18th September, and at once consulted Dr. Allen as to collections and storage of the stock for shipment, and as to the most important station to visit. I then proceeded to London, and was able to make all necessary preliminary arrangements for a vessel, sailing in January, with the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company. I then visited the Marine Biological Stations at Port Erin, Isle of Man, Pial Island, Barrow, and Bay of Nigg, Aberdeen. At the latter station I was enabled to see the apparatus that had been used by Dr. Williamson for retarding the development of the herring-ova, and arranged with him to supervise the collection and shipment at Plymouth. No hatching was in progress at this season at any of these places, but I was able to inspect all their plant and to have a long conversation with the curators and scientific superintendents. Copious notes were made of all that might prove useful, and I obtained from Dr. Allen a copy of Professor Kofold's " Biological Stations of Europe." This work contains all information relating to sizes of tanks, ponds, piping, pumps, filters, &c., in use at all the European stations, and may be referred to at any time. The Continental stations were at this time closed down, and as their appliances are practically the same as those in use in the British Isles I considered it unnecessary on the score of economy of time and expense to visit them. Lobsters and Crabs. These are fairly plentiful around Plymouth, and a stock was not secured until early in. December. They were placed in two of the large aquarium tanks. The large claws were securely tied, and few deaths occurred. Owing to the reduced size of the fish-chamber on board the vessel provision was only made to carry twenty-four each of lobsters and crabs. A much larger number was stored at Plymouth to allow for possible deaths, and the whole of the surviving stock, consisting of forty-three lobsters (twenty-eight female and fifteen male) and fifty crabs (thirty-three female and seventeen male) were brought on board. The crabs were in some instances placed two and three in a division originally intended for one, and the compartments allotted to the lobsters were again divided in the case of the smaller ones, and in spite of their greatly reduced quarters only two lobsters and seven crabs died during the voyage; the majority of deaths took place soon after leaving Plymouth. They were brought on board in ordinary fish-baskets, from six to a dozen in each basket. The large claws of all were bound when brought on board, and were not cut until each was confined in a separate compartment. Several crabs that were placed two or three in one division managed to get rid of their lashings and were not retied, but did not in any way injure each other. During the voyage they were fed sparingly and somewhat irregularly on frozen hake; a piece about 1 in. square was supplied to each on an average every second day. All unconsumed food was removed from the compartments two or three hours after being supplied, and every particle of fish-rust, &c, was removed by means of a siphon once or twice every day. Only once during the voyage were they handled to permit the tanks to be thoroughly scrubbed out. Nine of the crabs spawned during the voyage, but, as usual in very close confinement, the eggs were shed and lost. Several of the lobsters bore eggs when shipped and still retained them on arrival. Turbot (Rhombus maximus). The reasons in favour of making a trial shipment of turbot were many. The chief of these were —their high commercial value, the large size to which they attain, and their dissimilarity to any of the indigenous flat fishes. In addition to these reasons, Dr. Williamson had already, at the request of the New Zealand Government, proved them capable of withstanding sufficiently low temperatures for the hatchery ponds, and Dr. Allen has reared the young ones with grleat success in the small tanks, and the large adults thrive particularly well in the large aquarium tanks at Plymouth. Dr. Allen assured me also that if the work was put in hand at once (September) it would be possible to secure a few hundred of a suitable size for shipment. The young turbot were captured by Messrs. Smith and Orton and others of the staff by means of fine-mesh nets in the surf at Whitsand Bay. They were fairly plentiful at the end of September, but as many died from the effects of bruises, &c, it became necessary to continue to make up for losses right on to December, by which time they were very scarce. Some seven hundred odd were caught in all, but these were reduced to about three hundred by the time of shipment. They were transported from Whitsand Bay to the tanks at Plymouth in small jars placed in baskets. Their removal occupied from two to three hours—a long journey by brake, ferry-boat, train, and on foot—during which time the water was changed once. During their confinement in the tanks they were fed once a day on minced worms and squid, and a quantity of each was frozen for a time and then fed to them as a test for a supply of food for the voyage. This appeared quite satisfactory. At one time they were dying off so rapidly that it was considered advisable to get in a stock of plaice to ship in their stead. Some hundred and fifty plaice were captured and stocked in readiness, but as the mortality amongst the turbot steadily decreased they were not needed. About three hundred young turbot from 2 in. to 3 in. in length were brought off to the vessel in large zinc tubs, and were placed in the three tanks provided for them, a hundred in each tank. The measurement of each tank was 4 ft. by 2 ft. 6 in. by 18 in. deep, and they were made of l\ in. yellow-pine. Each tank was fitted with an easily removable lid fastened down by means of thumbscrews, and with a rubber joint. In the centre of each lid an opening was left 3 ft. longby 12 in. wide; this was formed into a. trunkway by being fitted with sides extending 9 in. above the lid of the tank. During heavy weather these covers were screwed down to minimize the splash of the water from side to side. The lower overflow was plugged up, and the water was allowed to rise and escape through a pipe 5 in. from the top of the trunkway. The surface area of the tanks was thus narrowed down very considerably, and the movement of the whole body of water was greatly reduced.