82 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
of Montreal, to their honour, encouraged the work, and the Marine and 
Fisheries Department gave its countenance as well as the aid of certain 
Government vessels; so that three separate dredging cruises were carried 
out in 1871, 1872, and 1873, and I can imagine no surprise more 
pleasurable than that of an intelligent reader wading through all the 
wearisome farrago called a Government report, coming suddenly upon 
the report on deep sea dredgings, addressed in 1871 and 1872 to the 
Hon. Peter Mitchell, and in 1873 to the Hon. A. J. Smith, and finding 
a profoundly interesting account of arduous labours on the deeps of the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence. “No researches with the dredge had ever been 
made in the deeper parts of the River St. Lawrence or Gulf until 
the summer of 1871” Dr. Whiteaves states in his first report, dated 
Dec. 29th, 1871. When this report was published “ not one-twentieth ” 
of the material obtained had been examined. eleven large bag-fulls of 
mud being brought up from depths of from 100 to 250 fathoms, and 
yielding eight characteristic deep-water foraminifera, on a very cursory 
examination. At that time not more than 50 species had been deter- 
mined in the Atlantic waters of Canada, and Dr. Whiteaves estimated 
that at least one-third more would be added, after his specimens had 
been diagnosed. His recent list gives about sixty-four species of these 
Protozoans as determined for these waters up to 1901. A number of 
sponges, hydroids and actinians were obtained, and very notable was the 
series of beautiful carmine-coloured sea-pens, Pennatula aculeata, Dan. 
from deep-water between Anticosti and the south shore of the St. 
Lawrence; as was the capture next year (1872) of the long Virgularia 
Ljungmanni, Kollr., while the echinoderms were remarkable, including as 
they did Schizaster fragilis, Duben and Koren, Ophioglypha sarsvi, Lut. 
Ophiacantha bidentata, Retz. Amphiura Sundevalli, Mull. and Troschel, 
and the complex Gorgonocephalus Agassizii, Stimp. The annelids 
appeared to embrace probably 20 species; and a fine collection of crusta- 
ceans; about 20 polyzoa; and a few tunicates. Of the 26 mollusks of 
special interest 15 appéared to be species, new to the continent, and two 
new to science. The practical aspects of the work were made prominent, 
and over 500 stomachs of cod fish were examined to decide the nature 
of the food which attracted the schools to their habitual resorts. 
All these reports are of inestimable value, and their character may 
be judged by the fact that the second report, dated January 14th, 1873, 
includes, apart from fishes, 190 specics of invertebrates; mollusks 
19; tunicates 10; polyzoa 39; crustacea 30; annelids 23; echinoderms 
28; sponges about 20; protozoans about 20, in addition to a large number 
of annelids, etc., which were in course of determination. In 1874 a still 
larger list was the result of over nine weeks’ work, conducted very often 
