INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1874. c iii 



buminous ooze-cement, which Professor Haeckel still consid- 

 ered as a definite organism, and of which he gave some 

 drawings in the form of net-works derived from the study of 

 Atlantic ooze preserved in alcohol. Bathybius now became 

 a very suggestive subject for investigation, but could not be 

 admitted as a satisfactorily established independent organ- 

 ism. The deep-sea explorations of the Lightning and Porcu- 

 pine brought no news of it. Professor Wyville Thomson, 

 in his "Depths of the Sea," is exceedingly cautious in dealing 

 with it. He speaks of "the viscid streams" of Bathybius, 

 and also of its movement, but not that he himself has seen 

 it; and he states that he is by no means satisfied that Bathyb- 

 ius is the permanent form of any living being. From the 

 Challenger we hear that one of the naturalists, who has paid 

 great attention to the ooze, finds the Globigerina mud full 

 of the pseudopodia of that foraminifer. When alcohol is 

 added to this, the pseudopodial matter is precipitated, and 

 this is what is figured by Haeckel as Bathybius. A similar 

 precipitate may be obtained from living specimens of the 

 Foraminifera. So far the prospect is not very hopeful for 

 Bathybius. The subject is now being investigated by Pro- 

 fessor E. van Beneden. 



During the cruise of the Challenger in the Antarctic Ocean 

 special attention was paid by Mr. Murray to the nature of 

 the bottom. He was induced, by the observations that have 

 been made in the Atlantic, to combine the use of the towing 

 net at various depths from the surface to one hundred and 

 fifty fathoms, with the examination of the samples from the 

 soundings. And this double work has led him to the con- 

 clusion (in which Sir W. Thomson is forced to concur, al- 

 though contrary to his former opinion) that the bulk of the 

 material of the bottom in deep water is, in all cases, derived 

 from the surface ; this, if it be proved a fact, will suggest, 

 important modifications of our opinions in regard to general 

 geological conditions and formation of sedimentary strata. 

 The absence of Foraminifera and other calcareous organisms 

 at depths of about 1500 fathoms, noticeable also in the sound- 

 ings of the United States steamship Tascarora in the Pacify 

 ic, is explained by Sir W. Thomson by the fact, as appears 

 from observation, that the deeper strata are rich in carbonie. 

 acid, this forming more than one third of the gaseous com- 



