122 E. HERON- ALLEN AND A. EARLAND ON SOME FORAMINIFERA 



dredgings were selected, three from the most northerly area 

 dredged by the " Huxley" and three from an area considerably 

 farther south. 



The three Northerly Stations selected lie far to the N.E. of 

 the Dogger Bank, in the centre of the North Sea, and in what 

 is, strictly speaking, the Scottish area of that sea. They lie in 

 the neighbourhood of the Great Fisher Bank, and are contiguous 

 to the most southerly line of " Goldseeker" Stations (Stns. 41, 

 41 B , 41 A , 42, etc.) but farther out to sea towards the east. These 

 three stations are referred to in the following paper as the 

 Northern or Outer Area. 



The three Southern Stations selected lie in the deep trough of 

 water between the Dogger Bank and the Northumbrian coast, 

 and are quite close to the shore. They are referred to in the 

 paper as the Southern or Inner Area. 



These dredgings were carefully selected with the view of obtain- 

 ing the muddiest deposits possible, such conditions being most 

 favourable for rhizopodal life ; and they probably represent the 

 richest of the " Huxley " dredgings, all the others which were 

 cursorily examined consisting of clean siliceous sand with hardly 

 any trace of microzoa. Such deposits, Mr. Borley assures us, are 

 typical of the greater part of the Southern North Sea. 



Owing to the widely separated stations selected the microfauna 

 of these six dredgings may probably also be regarded as typical 

 of the inshore and midsea areas. The comparative richness of 

 the fauna of the Southern Area, as compared with the Northern, 

 is undoubtedly due to the proximity of the coastline and the 

 abundant food supply derived from the coastal deposits. 



All the dredgings consisted of loose sands containing a con- 

 siderable amount of mud ; but whereas the sands from the 

 Northern Area were easily cleaned (like the majority of the 

 "Goldseeker" dredgings from adjacent stations), the sands of 

 the Southern Area proved somewhat refractory. They con- 

 tained numerous pellets of hardened mud which resisted dis- 

 integration, and even the action of a strong solution of boiling 



