The Ohio Naturalist
The Ohio Naturalist
The Ohio Naturalist
The Ohio Naturalist
PUBLISHED BYTHE BIOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
PUBLISHED BYTHE BIOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
PUBLISHED BY
THE BIOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
THE LAKE LABORATORY.
Herbert Osborn.
Herbert Osborn.
Herbert Osborn.
Most readers of theNaturalistare probably aware that the University maintains at Sandusky a lake laboratory, devoted to the investigation and study of the life of the lake region. As this number of theNaturalistis devoted mostly to reports upon work which has been done there, it may be of interest to give some facts regarding opportunities offered and the character of the work provided for.
The laboratory was first opened by Professor Kellicott in 1895, with a view specially to give opportunity for investigation, and he and several of his students engaged in work there through the summers of ’95–6–7. Some of the results of these studies were published, especially Professor Kellicott’s report upon the Rotifers of Sandusky Bay and the list of Odonata for the State, which includes numerous records for that locality. During the summer of 1899 the writer and several associates occupied the laboratory, and studies upon the fishes of the locality, records of Hemiptera and some other groups have been incorporated in different papers. In 1900 the scope of the laboratory was enlarged so as to provide courses of instruction in Botany and Zoology, and a number of students and investigators improved the opportunity to work during the summer vacation. Reports on the Odonata, sponges, Bryozoa, and the notes on birds appearing in the present issue indicate the range of the studies engaged in that season. However, many lines of study which were begun by different students and which will require several seasons for observations, are not as yet ready for publication. It may be noted, however, that the flora of the locality has been very thoroughly collected by Professor Moseley, of the Sandusky High School, and his publication on the “Sandusky Flora” furnishes an admirable guide to the location of the various species of plants, and an excellent basis for additional investigation. The laboratory will at present accommodate twenty-five or thirty students,and its capacity will doubtless be increased as necessity requires. It is a two-story frame building 22 × 66 feet, the upper floor of which is used for investigation and the lower in part for students’ laboratory tables. It is supplied with city water, a number of aquaria, has a convenient dark room for photographic work, and answers admirably for the purpose for which it is used—that is, for a temporary summer laboratory. The laboratory is supplied with two boats equipped with sails, and designed especially for work in the bay and marshes. Dredges, seines, plankton net and other collecting apparatus are provided, while microscopes, microtomes, books, and other laboratory equipments are taken from the university.
PART OF LABORATORY ROOM, LOWER FLOOR.
PART OF LABORATORY ROOM, LOWER FLOOR.
PART OF LABORATORY ROOM, LOWER FLOOR.
Plate 6.LABORATORY ROOMS OF UPPER FLOOR.
Plate 6.LABORATORY ROOMS OF UPPER FLOOR.
Plate 6.LABORATORY ROOMS OF UPPER FLOOR.
While under the management of the Ohio State University, it is desired to make the laboratory as useful as possible to instructors and investigators in biology, wherever located. To this end table room is granted free of charge to qualified investigators, and any one wishing to undertake investigation of biological problems will be given all possible opportunity. Courses of study have been designed especially for high school teachers and for advanced university students, the former devoting themselves to methods of field work and preservation of material for laboratory use, and acquiring methods of laboratory work in connection with study of typical forms. For the latter, advanced courses in embryology, morphology, entomology, plant ecology, botany, etc., are offered. The students taking such courses can secure for them university credits covering equivalent courses in the university curriculum. It is needless to say that the opportunities for field observation, collecting, and the laboratory study of representative forms are most favorable. For special advanced courses in embryology, and particularly those pertaining to microscopical technique, the more elaborate equipment of the university is of course preferable.