Sir C. Wyville Thomson's correspondence on the "Challenger"' fishes ' 87 



Bonsyde 

 Linlithgow, N.B. 

 October 1, 1880 

 Dear Sir: 



I have forwarded your note to Dr. Sclater* and see no reason why you should not enter the 

 birds in your forthcoming volumes. 



The Pteropods are not even commenced. They are not so numerous as might be expected 

 in the Collection and, as they are greatly scattered on slides and in bottles of tow-net matter, it 

 will be some time before they are ready. We must get through with the hii^ger things first. 



You will get probably tomorrow or next day, a lot of fishes from the deep water off the Faroes ( ?) 

 some of the spoils of the Knight-Errant.] 1 will be greatly obliged to you if you will simply 

 add them to the Challenger things ...(?) That is look them over keep what you require for 

 the Brit: Mus: and return us the remainder named. Only it would be a great favour if you 

 would keep this lot separate, send us a specimen of all of those of which there are two in the same 

 condition, and let me have a separate short report on them for a paper on the Faroe Channel 

 which I am going to read at the R.S.E. 



You will get lots of things in other departments by degrees from the same cruise, but I am 

 having them all named and worked up with the Challenger things in the mean time. 



Yrs faithfully, 



C. Wyville Thomson 



Bonsyde 



Linlithgow, \'.B. 

 October 25, ISm 

 Dear Dr. Giinther: 



Dr. Sclater promises to send you the birds as soon as possible after his return home. 

 I am looking out most anxiously for the plates of the deep-sea fishes. They are now pressing 

 me to finish my work on the Collections and leaving such a crush of printing for the end that I 

 hardly see how I can manage it. 



I would prefer having, as in other Memoirs, the name of the Fish only on the plate. 1 would 

 especially rather not have the depth— for although of course the depth of the sounding is given 

 in the station for the Fish, we can seldom be absolutely sure that the fish actually came from that 

 depth— particularly in the case of using the trawl. faithfull 



C. Wyville Thomson 



±The bathybial Fish-fauna which surrounds the British Islands was hitherto almost unknoNsn. 

 Beside the stray specimens which now and then were found thrown ashore or floatmg on the 

 surface no further evidence of the existence of this fauna was obtained, except on two occasions, 

 viz on a dredging-excursion of Dr. Gwyn-Jeffreys in 1867 from a depth of from SO to W 

 fathoms;* and during the cruise of H.M.S. Porcupine in 1869 from a depth ot from 200 to 500 

 fathoms, t 



*See Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1867, xx, p. 287. t/W.. 1874. XML p. 138. 



* See Challenger Report by P. L. Sclater, Vol. 2 (Zool.), Pt. VIII. 1881. 



t The cruise which led to the deliniation of Wyville Thomson ridge: see Herdman. p. 5!^. 1923. 



J A^*^A or>H miirh emended is in the same hand as that of March 29 and 

 .he^T.eiJjSw^col'-o-e t P. itZt aTpTremiy ano.her fi., draf. GO,.„h« .o THO^■so^. 



