^26 COXTRTRUTTOXS FROM THE KATIOXAL llKRliARlUM. 



450511 iiiado near the mouili <.f Aptos Crook in ^Umtvrcy Bay Cali- 

 fornia, m 10 fatJicns. Bldddplda papllhfa (Or. & St.) MannVis not 

 infrequent at station 20201 [^ that is, near tlie west coast of the 

 Ilawaiian Islands. The original specimen was discovered in the fossil 

 deposit at Oamarii, New Zealand; hut tw<, subsequent finds of this 

 rare dintoni, one by Grove and one mentioned ]>v Schmidt," were made 

 m the same vicinity as station 2920II. A sohuion of the question of 

 origin of these forms at lliis point of tlie soa bottom, tt) wln'ch they 

 were necessarily transported (the deptli beinc. 570 fathoms), would 

 doubtless be of interest. 



Many species first found in Berinfr Sea and showin*,^ their origin in 

 then- names, as Cocconeu arcfica Chve, have been rediscovered in 

 these investigations at tlie typ<' localities, lieferonces to tliese coinci- 

 dences will be found in the text of this w.uk und(4' the several species. 



Though not inchuled in the work here rejx.rted, I wish to mention 

 another case recently brougbt to my notice which illustrates the value 

 of (hatoms m determining locality on the sea bottom. lu Ih.' cable 

 survey of (he U. S. steamer Xcw a seri.vs of soundings was made over 

 a long belt of sea bottom between the islands of Guam and Luzon 

 which I find are full of (he gigantic Co^cinodlscus rex Wallioh, a diatom 

 by no means common, bu( foun<l hero in such enormous quanthies 

 that the gadierings are often a pure siliceous mass of the remains of 

 this one species. This belt is over 3,000 miles long east and west and 

 of unascertained widtli, perhaps 20 miles or a little over. On the 

 return voyage, whenever- the skip's co.u'se entered this belt great 

 quantities of tliis diatom were again secured. Thus, for example at 

 survey station 740, latitu.le ir 24' 00" A'., longitude 1.35° 3]' 00"'e., 

 "788 fathoms, the material is practically ])ure Coscinodiscv^ rex 

 Lnquestionably such enormous quantities of this single diatom must 

 have been transporte<l to this belt of sea bottom by long-continued 

 ami constant currents; and it would therefore be quite possible, by 

 the study of sounding.s and csi)ecially of surface gathcrincrs mad' 



) 



j^uLiiciiiigs inacie in 



consc- 



the future, to determine the origin of tkis vast supply and 

 quently the trend and exbud of the transporling current. 



In ccmnection with more thorough and extensive work upon the 

 diatoms for tho purposes already mentione<l, the Government would 

 be doing valuable service in adding to the supply of available and 

 trustworthy literature on the Diatomaceao. Probablv no depart- 

 ment of botany is at the present time in such din^ confusion and sup- 

 plied witli such meager i;terature. Many of the au(hori(ative works 

 on the subject were long since out of print, and are either not ])rocur- 

 able at any price or so eAq>eiLsive as to make impossible the systematic 

 study of thes(> j,lan(s by new investigators. A series of gdod works 

 easdy procured would 1)(^ a s(inmlus to further studv. As in all 



*- - - *^ 



'^Schiiiidt, Alias y;/. n;7. JSL»i. 



