i)Ri:i)<;iNi; i\ rm: rivkk c:KOUCif. yi 



representing the septal orifice, and in this variety tliere arc longi- 

 tudinal ribs or strite. 



'J'he record so far, therefore, is not a very large one ; hut nearly all 

 the great divisions of Invertebrate life are represented by one or more 

 species. These are but a few in comparison with the forms of life 

 in the sea, which appear to be quite inexhaustible ; and the collec- 

 tions made by various scientific expeditions give us perhaps but an 

 idea of the abundance of it. All around our own coast (not to 

 mention the great oceans beyond), there are vast tracts which have 

 never yet been touched by trawl or dredge, reminding us of the lines 

 in Spenser's " Faerie Queen " : 



" Oh what an endless work have I in hand, 

 To count the seas' abundant progenj-, 

 Whose fruitfuU seede farre passeth those in land, 

 And also those which mouve in th' azure skj'." 



The results of deep-sea trawling have also entirely disproved the 

 hypotheses of the older naturalists with regard to the limitation of life 

 at great depths, where the pressure and density of the water is 

 enormous. 1 )r. Wallich's report on " The North Atlantic Sea-bed " 

 in the "Bulldog," iS6o, and the later expeditions of the Poniipine, 

 Challenger, and others, have proved the existence of marine life at 

 tremendous depths, extending to about three miles, some of which 

 are especially adapted to their environment ; and that any limit is 

 not so much affected by the depth as by the temperature. 



\\'hen once an attempt is made to illustrate our marine fauna in 

 an Essex local museum, there is little doubt but that such expedi- 

 tions as those recorded by Mr. Fitch and myself would for a long 

 time contribute many new records ; and much more satisfactory 

 results would be obtained when once the more general species in 

 each order are sufficiently represented, which might then be passed 

 over for the rarer and less-studied genera and species. The plethora 

 of marine life is so great that, in the attempt to collect or preserve all 

 that is caught, many of the more interesting, and especially the 

 minuter, forms are lost opsor ilt. A commencement that would lead 

 to better results might be made by a competent committee under- 

 taking a week's systematic work in the spring, and again in the 

 autumn, who would contribute full reports, to which additions might 

 from time to time be made as opportunity offered. Some of our 

 members would probably undertake to work out the more difficult 

 groups, e.g.. Zoophytes, Polyzoa, ^:c. 



H 2 



