INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. x li 



in the summer of 1872. This vessel, as already stated, was 

 fitted out by the Coast Survey, with a view of hydrographic 

 work on the California coast ; and the occasion was em- 

 braced by Professor Agassiz, with experienced assistants, to 

 make observations and collections throughout the voyage. 

 Owing to various causes beyond the control of the expedi- 

 tion, less was done in the way of deep-sea research than was 

 hoped for by them; but the collection of natural history spec- 

 imens was continued unintermittingly, with the result of en- 

 larging the Cambridge Museum by the addition of the con- 

 tents of several hundred barrels of alcoholic specimens and 

 other objects. 



Extensive explorations were also carried on during the 

 year in the Bay of Fundy, by the parties connected with the 

 United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, as also in 

 conjunction with the Coast Survey, by the same parties, in 

 the vicinity of George's Banks. Reports have already been 

 published in Silliman's Journal and elsewhere of this work, 

 which is believed to be scarcely inferior in importance to that 

 of any of the more modern explorations of a similar char- 

 acter. 



Great Britain has distinguished herself by the special equip- 

 ment of a large steamer, the Challenger, for deep-sea work, 

 this vessel having already started for a three years' cruise, 

 to include the Bay of Biscay, the Madeiran seas, the coast 

 of the United States, various parts of the South Atlantic and 

 of the Pacific Ocean. It is commanded by Captain Nares, 

 of the British navy ; but the scientific work is under the di- 

 rection of Professor Wyville Thompson, one of the most emi- 

 nent of British naturalists. 



The Russian corvette, Witjas, has also been distinguished 

 for valuable work in the Pacific Ocean, especially in the vi- 

 cinity of New Guinea. 



The work of the German steamer, the Pommerania, in the 

 Baltic and adjacent waters, under the direction of Dr. Meyer 

 and Professor Mobius, has been prosecuted with vigor, re- 

 sulting in the discovery of important facts in reference to 

 the natural history and physical condition of the seas off the 

 German coast. 



In the way of land explorations in America, we may men- 

 tion those in Greenland under the direction of Mr. Edward 



