May 14, I860.] VIA THE FAROES, ICELAND, AND GREENLAND. 103 



it "to contain numerous shells with life-being forms therein, 

 which, in his opinion, exist alive at the bottom of the sea." 

 With regard to the sand contained in the specimens, he says that 

 " it is no rolling sand, but fragmentary, broken, and dissolved stones 

 of mountains. The granules are not round, but with acute sides. 

 The granite sand consists of much glimmer and quartz, with green 

 crystal fragments, which might be hornblende were there particles 

 of pumice-stone, but which are not at all therein to be found." 

 From the evidence which we have in the premises, it would seem 

 that the bottom of the sea gradually descends to 1 540 fathoms from 

 Iceland, and then in the same manner ascends to the Greenland 

 coast. To determine the correctness of this opinion, farther sound- 

 ings are required. The Arctic current, perhaps some thirty feet 

 deep, and by some supposed to be fifty miles wide, carries with it 

 large quantities of ice, from which earth drops to the bottom of the 

 sea. The sea between Greenland and Labrador was also partially 

 sounded by me last fall, and the greatest depth was found to be 2090 

 fathoms, which was about under the Arctic current, west of Green- 

 land, latitude 61° 05'. North-west of this sounding the deepest 

 water found was 1840 fathoms. The bottom in Davis Strait 

 was soft mud, except under the Arctic current, where it was coarse 

 sand, which had been evidently dropped from the ice. On many 

 icebergs may be seen large quantities of sand and boulders of 

 several inches in diameter. 



Landings for the Cables. — The precise places for the landings of the 

 cables have not yet been determined upon. There are good bays on 

 North Scotland, and there need not be any fears as to that part of 

 the route. The bay of Thorshaven, island of Stromoe, of the Faroe 

 group, is approached from the deep sea without obstruction, and its 

 bottom is sand. The average depth of water in the bay is about 20 

 fathoms. Thorshaven is the capital of the Faroe Islands, and has 

 about 900 inhabitants. The cable to Iceland will leave Wester- 

 manshaven on the west coast of the Stromoe Isle. The bay is deep, 

 bottom sand, and free from the ocean waves. On the south coast of 

 Iceland, about long. 19° w., or at Portland, it is proposed to land 

 the cable. The bottom of the sea approaching nearly the whole 

 south coast of Iceland is sand. The coast is free from ice winter 

 and summer. The cable to Greenland will run from the Eeijkiavik 

 bay. The depth of water in this bay is favourable, the bottom is 

 mud and sand. It is free from ice winter and summer, excepting 

 a little crust near the shore. Arctic ice is never seen in that bay, 

 except, perhaps, once in a century. Eeijkiavik is the capital of 

 Iceland, and its inhabitants have the highest degree of education. 



