CHAP. I.] BERMUDAS TO MADE IB A. 51 



der a canopy of cloud and mist, the sky looked as hard as ever, 

 not a whit nearer the point of precipitation. 



Our first haul, after leaving Ponta Delgada, was in 1000 fath- 

 oms, midway between the islands of San Miguel and Santa Ma- 

 ria, and about fifteen miles north-west of the Formigas. The 

 bottom was globigerina ooze. The principal feature in this 

 dredging was the unusual abundance of stony corals of the 

 deep-sea group. 



Three living specimens of a large species of Flahellum (Fig. 

 12) were sifted out, the same as the one which we had dredged 

 previously at Station LXXIIL, to the west of Fayal. The coral- 

 lum is wedge-shaped, the calicle rising from an attenuated ped- 

 icle. The extreme height, from the end of the pedicle to the 

 margin of the cup, is 50 mm. ; the greatest diameter of the cal- 

 icle is 65 mm., and the smallest 30 mm. The three specimens 

 are very nearly of the same dimensions. 



The lateral costae make an angle with one another of 120° to 

 140°, and are sharp and moderately prominent, with an irregu- 

 lar edge. The external surface of the calicle is covered witli a 

 glistering epitheca, and near the margin is of a light pink color. 

 The costfe of the faces corresponding to the primary and sec- 

 ondary septa are almost as well marked as the lateral costffi, 

 and appear as irregularly dentated ridges, separated by slight 

 depressions. The ends of the calicle are broadly rounded, and 

 it is compressed laterally in the centre. The upper margin is 

 .curved, describing about one-third of a circle. 



There are six systems of septa disposed in five cycles. The 

 septa are extremely thin and fragile. They are tinged with 

 pink, and covered with rounded granules, disposed in rows. 

 The primary septa are approximately equal to the secondary, 

 giving somewhat the appearance of twelve systems. These 

 septa are broad and prominent, with a rounded superior mar- 

 gin, and curved lines of growth. The septa of the third, fourth, 

 and fifth cycles successively diminish in breadth, and are thus 



