BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN 

 OF THE EXPEDITION 



By R. Sparc k 



The mere fact that the sea covers nearly three-fourths of the earth's surface 

 is a sufficient indication of its vast expanse. Yet the difference between 

 the areas of land and of water is slight compared with the difference bet- 

 ween their volumes. Supposing that we were able to scoop off all the land 

 down to sea-level and deposit it in the sea, we should not even fill the Paci- 

 fic. The amount of dry land inhabited by living creatures is therefore small 

 in proportion to the amount of inhabited sea. On dry land, life is mainly 



