82 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



abundance of food, we may find at a very considerable depth (2422 

 fathoms) an abundant fauna at very great distances from continental 

 lands. We were, at this station, about 2140 miles from Acapulco, 1200 

 miles from Manga Eeva, 1 700 miles from the Galapagos, and about 900 

 miles from the JSIarquesas. 



Another haul made under the equator, near the northern edge of the 

 cold current, in 2320 fathoms, gave us the same results. Tlie pelagic 

 life was very abundant, the surface teemed with Radiolarians, Diatoms, 

 and Globigerinae, and swarmed with invertebrates. The trawl contained 

 a superb collection of Holothurians, Brisinga, Hyalonema, Neusina, and 

 on this occasion we brought up the only Stalked Crinoid collected during 

 this expedition, parts of the stem of two specimens of Ehizocrinus, 

 of which, unfortunately, the arms were wanting. 



Our progress, which had been excellent during the first days of our 

 journey after leaving Manga Reva, has for the past six days been greatly 

 impeded by head winds in the region where we ought to have been in 

 the full swing of the southeasterly trades. This led us with great re- 

 luctance to abandon all idea of further work in the equatorial belt of 

 currents, to give up our proposed visit to Clipperton, and on account of 

 our limited coal supply to make for Acapulco, merely sounding every 

 morning. This was a great disappointment to me, as we had every rea- 

 son to expect to be able to spend some time in the belt of the equato- 

 rial currents, and settle more conclusively than we have been able to do, 

 the question of their influence upon the richness of the fauna living in 

 their track far from continental shores or insular areas. 



The presence of Diatoms in all parts of the Humboldt current which 

 we crossed from south of Callao to the equator at the Galapagos, and 

 west towards Clipperton, shows how far the tract of a great oceanic cur- 

 rent can be traced, not only by its temperature, but also by the pelagic 

 life living upon its surface or near it. "When once in the warm westerly 

 equatorial current, the Diatoms disappear and the bottom samples show 

 only surface Eadiolarians and Globigerinae. 



"We took a number of serial temperatures in the line Galapagos to Manga 

 Eeva, passing from the colder water of the Humboldt current to the 

 warmer waters south toward Manga Eeva. The temperatures at 200 

 fathoms became nearly identical. K^orth the great change in temper- 

 ature took place between 25 and 200 fathoms, where there was a difference 

 of 24°. South the warm water extended to 100 fathoms, a great change 

 occurring between 100 and 200 fathoms, a drop of 16°. The serial 

 temperatures taken at the southern and northern edges of the cold cur- 



