HYDROinS. 



19 



the profounder oceanic depths, that 110 vegetation can exist there ; an 

 absence of animal life was therefore inferred. Certain exceptions to 

 this definition of vegetable life, as being exhaustive, are found in the 

 Fungi, which germinate and grow in darkness, and it is believed are 

 nourished in great measure by organic matter, as well as in the curious 

 carnivorous plants, which have of late attracted so much attention. 

 This, however, does not invalidate the truth that all nutriment, in 

 order to be fit for the maintenance of animal life, must pass, at least 

 once, through the transmutation effected only by vegetation. 



The non-existence of life below 300 fathoms, in all the oceans of 

 our globe, was strongly supported by Forbes's investigations m the 

 Mediterranean. The abyssal depths of the sea were thus determined 

 by logic to be the universal empire over which reigned darkness, des- 



FiG. 3. Nutritive Bud of Tubularia indivisa. (From Male Colony.) 



olation, and death. No investigations were made as to the facts of 

 the case. Logic and a hasty generalization from inadequate knowl- 

 edge were made, once again in the history of science, to do duty for 

 the more laborious method of patient observation. Commerce at last 

 gave the impulse to deep-sea exploration, which had before been lack- 

 ing. The corartiercial world demanded a more speedy mode of com- 

 munication from continent to continent, and the response came in the 

 form of the submarine telegraph. Thousands of soundings were 

 made to determine the best position in the ocean's bed for its success- 

 ful laying, and thousands, again, to secure the broken end after the 



