BY THE PEESIDENT. 187 



and 2675 fathoms ; in the South Atlantic at six stations, from 

 depths of between 1375 and 2150 fathoms; and in the Pacific 

 Ocean at twenty-two stations, from depths of between 275 and 

 2925 fathoms. He also mentions other deposits, viz. Coral-mud, 

 Radiolarian ooze, and Diatomaceous ooze. According to Mr. 

 Murray, volcanic products, such as pumice, lava, and scoria3, as 

 well as tlie peroxide of manganese, are universally spread over the 

 bottom of the deep sea ; and, in consequence of copper, cobalt, and 

 nickel having been detected in the clays, he was tempted to suggest 

 the presence of meteoric or cosmic dust in those deposits. 



An animated, but quite amicable, controversy has of late years 

 taken place as to whether Glohigerina (fi'om which the first-mentioned 

 ooze has taken its name) lives only on the bottom or only on the 

 surface of the sea, or on both. You Avill doubtless ask, what is a 

 Glohigerina ? It is a microscopic shell, consisting of a few globular 

 cells, which are added together in the course of growth, the smallest 

 cell being the original one or nucleus, and the largest being the last 

 formed. All the cells are full of a protoplasmic substance called 

 sarcode, which is amorphous or has no definite structure — no head, 

 no limbs, no heart, viscera, muscles, or nerves. Its entire body is a 

 stomach, and nothing but a stomach. The same kind of sarcode 

 forms the living pulp of sponges, which have a horny or glass-like 

 skeleton instead of a shell. The Glohigerina is a member of an 

 extensive and extremely variable class of Invertebrate animals 

 called Foraminifera ; and this class, as well as sponges, belong to 

 a kingdom called Protozoa, the name of which imports not that 

 it was the earliest form of life, but that its organization is of the 

 very primary or simplest kind. The cells of the Glohigerina are 

 in their living state covered with the most delicate spines of 

 comparatively great length, which are set outwards, and probably 

 serve to keep at a respectful distance all predatory animals of 

 an equally minute size. Between these spines some of the sarcode 

 is occasionally, if not habitually, protruded at the will of the 

 animal through very fine pores of the shell, which gave rise to the 

 name Foraminifera. Such prolongations or expansions of the 

 sarcode are called pseudopodia, and are used for capturing and 

 taking into the body or stomach animal or vegetable particles 

 which serve for food, and are engulfed in the internal sarcode. 

 Having premised thus much, and in the hope that my description 

 may be tolerably intelligible to those who have not, like myself, 

 studied the Foraminifera, I will proceed with my account of the 

 controversy. I have frequently taken with a towing-net on the 

 surface of the sea a multitude of floating Glohigerince, which were 



