260 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



and, so to speak, catch her in the very act, if you wish to learn her mys- 

 teries. Because we know that the animals of the upper world live under 

 such and such conditions, we do not have the right to conclude there- 

 from that the depths of the sea remain uninhabitable. 



V. — The first investigations of the depths of the sea. 



About a quarter of a century ago hardly anything was known re- 

 garding the bottom of the sea. In 1855 the first serious attempt was 

 made to study this subject, when it was proposed to connect England 

 and America by means of a telegraph wire, which was to be laid across 

 the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. To enter upon this important un- 

 dertaking with some chance of success it became necessary to com- 

 mission competent men to investigate the dark cavern of the sea with 

 the view of finding suitable places where the cable could rest on even 

 ground and avoid sharp rocks, where the motion of the water might 

 cause it to wear out and break. 



These investigations were made from both sides of the Atlantic by the 

 two countries mainly interested in the undertaking, England and the 

 United States. The vessels sent out on this expedition were supplied with 

 all the latest and most improved instruments, especially with an entirely 

 new kind of plummets for deep-sea soundings. These consisted of a hol- 

 low stem, with a lid at the lower end, alio wing mud and other matter from 

 the bottom to pass in, but safely retaining everything that had passed 

 in. This is much better than the glue which was formerly put on the 

 plummet. This stem is not heavy. In order that it may sink perpen- 

 dicularly, weights are attached to it in such a manner as to cause them 

 to drop off the moment the plummet touches the bottom. This, of course, 

 renders the hauling up much easier, but care should be takeu to have a 

 good supply of these weights on board, as they can only serve once. 

 It is hardly necessary to add that nowadays steam is employed in this 

 work. 



" This is all very well," people will say; " but this will not aid in solv- 

 ing the question whether there is any life in the depths of the sea. It 

 would be the same as if a blind man wanted to assert that no birds ily 

 in the air, because he does not happen to catch any in his outstretched 

 hands." 



Let us not judge rashly. The first observations showed that the bot- 

 tom of the ocean was sufficiently even for the object in view. The 

 soundings also showed that the bottom was covered with very small 

 shells, exceedingly thin and brittle. This circumstance raised the ques- 

 tion : How did the little animals to which these shells belonged live ? 

 Did they live near the surface, enjoying the light of the sun, and had 

 these shells, therefore, slowly sunk to the bottom alter the death of the 

 animals? Or had they lived in these dark depths where their remains 

 had been found ? That this latter supposition might be true, was shown 

 by the fact that starfish and other creeping animals were brought up 



