The collection of Decapoda made by the Huxley during her short cruise on the north side of the Bay of Biscay is an extensive one; it comprises no less than forty-nine species—a number which speaks well for the efficiency of the gear employed.

The observations to be recorded in this Paper were commenced in March, 1905. They originated in an attempt to find a general method for rearing marine larval forms. Several investigators had previously succeeded in rearing Echinoderms, Molluscs, and Polychætes from artificially fertilized eggs under laboratory conditions, but the process was generally difficult and the results more or less uncertain. The most promising method seemed to be that adopted by Caswell Grave (26), who was able to rear his larvæ by feeding them on diatoms. Grave obtained his diatoms by placing sand, collected from the sea bottom, in aquaria and using such diatoms as developed from this material. All the methods, however, suffered from the uncertainty of not knowing what organisms were introduced into the aquaria in which the larvse were to be reared, either in the original sea-water or along with the food-supply.

As remarked by Stebbing (A History of Recent Crustacea, p. 185): “Upogebia, Leach, 1814, was founded to receive another species discovered by the industrious Montagu, and described by him in 1805 (1808) as Cancer astacus stellatus. … It seems to have escaped the notice of writers subsequent to Leach that the earliest name of this genus was Upogebia, which therefore must be retained in preference to Leach's own alteration of it into Gebia, or Risso's Gebios.”

The Council and Officers.

Four ordinary meetings and one special meeting of the Council have been held during the year, at which the average attendance has been ten.

The Laboratories at Plymouth and Lowestoft have both been visited by Committees of the Council.

The thanks of the Council are due to the Councils of the Royal Society and of the Linnean Society for the use of their rooms for the meetings.

About midnight on 26th June, 1908, at the close of a voyage to the White Sea fishing grounds, undertaken by Mr. A. E. Hefford and myself in the Hull steam trawler Princess Louise, H 837, Captain Turner of that vessel did me the great favour of taking a short haul to procure plaice for transplantation to the North Sea.