New samplers for collection of sea mud.

To obtain specimens from marine environment, water sampling devices such as Nansen's sampler and sediment sampling device such as a gravity-core sampler are used for geological or ecological examinations in oceanic or aquatic fields. Those samplers are able tocollect a reasonable amount of specimens for the above studies. These devices are all considerably heavy and operated by means of a rope with the help of a winch, permitting the raising and lowering of the device. During our screening studies for microorganisms producing antibiotics, sea mud was found to be a good source1'^. Small amounts were sufficient to isolate a great variety of microorganisms. Since a small sized sampler would be adequate and since a more convenient sampler is needed for easy and frequent collection of sea mud, the following devices were made and used successfully.