84 



DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN 



curves of salinity and temperature lie exactly parallel, both 

 decreasing regularly as we descend in depth. 



The animal life, too, showed everywhere great uniformity. 

 While on this route we made seven long pelagic hauls, some at 

 night, with a number of appliances working at different depths 

 simultaneously. The weather was all that could be desired, and 

 we had therefore a splendid opportunity of testing even the 

 very finest of our appliances. As a result we succeeded in 

 collecting a great variety of forms, a full description of which 

 can only be given after thorough systematic examination. It 



Fig. 63. — Hydrographical Section showing the Temperature and Salinity at 

 Stations 44 to 51. 



will suffice here to mention the main features of the catches, 

 and to describe one or two particularly remarkable forms 

 (especially fishes) that attracted our attention at the time, or 

 during our first cursory inspection in the laboratory. In the 

 following chapters the material collected will be treated in a 

 more systematic manner. 



It was interesting to find that from the corresponding depths 

 we always obtained catches practically identical in character. 

 In the appliances towed at the surface and down to 150 metres 

 there were small colourless young fish of many species, and fish- 

 eggs of very different sizes, some even as small as 0.5 mm. in 

 diameter, and leptocephali occurred in considerable quantities. 

 A profusion of crystal -clear pelagic forms, such as the large 



