Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 59.djvu/435

Rh station must be appointed to a particular table for a definite time by his government, university or the controlling committee of that 'table,' and this is the system which has worked so well for over quarter of a century and which gives a certain stamp and tradition to some at least of the tables.

The opportunities for taking part in collecting expeditions at sea are most valuable to the young naturalist, and especially to such as have not had previous experience of the rich Mediterranean fauna. Dredging, 'plankton' collection and fishing are carried on daily in the Bay of Naples by means of the two little steamers (the 'Johannes Müller' and the 'Francis Balfour’—both classic names in biology) belonging to the

station, and by a flotilla of fishing and other smaller boats which start for work in the very early morning and return laden with treasure in time to supply the workers in the laboratory for the day. Many of the Neapolitan fishermen are more or less in the employ of the station and bring to the laboratory such rare specimens as they may chance to find in their day's work.

Chevalier Dr. S. Lo Bianco, the genial chief of the collecting and preserving department, has a phenomenal knowledge of the marine fauna, and of where, when and how to catch any particular thing—and, moreover, of how best to preserve it when caught. Each afternoon he visits the laboratories and ascertains the wants of the workers, each night he