NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 129 



The winch then brings up the bottle-series and bottom-snapper 

 together. The bottles are removed from the wire and placed in 

 sheltered racks. Paul collects water-samples for chemical analy- 

 sis, and Soule takes specimens for salinity-determinations. When 

 this is done, the deep-sea thermometers are read and the Nansen 

 bottles prepared for their second plunge — this time to greater 

 depths. 



While all this is going on, Seiwell or Paul has put the plankton- 

 pump into operation. This apparatus is lowered three times, 

 to levels corresponding to the depth of the tow-nets. A measured 

 volume of sea-water passes through a fine silk net. The number 

 of organisms captured, divided by the number of liters of water 

 pumped, gives the "density of population" at each level. The 

 plankton-nets are hauled in after an hour or so. The specimens 

 collected are preserved and labelled for future study. 



It now remains to bring up the deep-series and collect the 

 sediment from the bottom-sampler. This done, the sails are 

 once more set and we proceed on our way. If everything has 

 gone well there is still an hour before lunch in which to start the 

 chemical work. The delicate hydrogen-ion tests are made first, 

 to avoid the possibility of changes in the samples from contami- 

 nation by the air or by sunlight. The other chemical charac- 

 teristics are determined after lunch, along with the salinity. 



These mornings are strenuous. There are many operations 

 going on at once. Wires lead in all directions from the winch. 

 The sun glares on the water, making it necessary to wear dark- 

 glasses. And only careful co-ordination saves us from utter 

 confusion. Each man has his appointed tasks, but is always 

 ready to lend a hand should things go wrong for the other fellow. 

 And it was a rare day when something did not go awry. Wires 

 might foul below the ship. Messengers might fail to reverse the 

 bottles; or a "jellyfish" get in the way. The piano-wire might 

 snap, or the plankton-pump fail to operate. Anything might 

 happen, without warning, to upset the regular order. 



On the afternoon of September 16 we sighted Barbados, our 

 first land in fifty-two days. Our premonitions on leaving Iceland 

 had not been borne out, for we had been much too busy to get 



