230 THE ATLANTIC. [chap. iv. 



three fine specimens of a new species of Porcellanaster, re- 

 marlvable for a series of long spines running along the centre 

 of the back of each ray, two samples of Brisinga^ broken, as 

 usual, a few of Opkioglypha bullata, and a bryozoon had fortu- 

 nately stuck to the outside of the net. From the temperature, 

 and from the nature of the animals procured by the dredge, 

 there could be little doubt that we had slipped off the ridge on 

 its western side, and that the sounding was in the southern 

 section of the western trough of the Atlantic. On the follow- 

 ing day, after having made good 125 miles, we sounded in 

 2250 fathoms, with a bottom of ordinaiy globigerina ooze, and 

 a bottom temperature of 1°*7 C. In the interval we had passed 

 over, or close to, the position where the Gazelle sounded in 

 1640 fathoms. It therefore appears, both from this and from 

 the remarkable change in bottom temperature, that we had 

 crossed the ridge, and that our sounding on the 7th was in 

 the eastern basin of the Atlantic, where all experience led us 

 to expect a considerably higher temperature than in the south- 

 western. We took a series of temperature soundings down to 

 1500 fathoms, and in the evening we crossed the equator for 

 the sixth time since leaving home. 



On the 9th we were close to our position on the 21st of Au- 

 gust, 1873 (Station CII.), and we put over the dredge in 2450 

 fathoms. The dredge came up nearly empty, with only a small 

 Euplectella, and a fragment of a large hexactinellid sponge. 

 The bag contained a small quantity of globigerina ooze. 



For the next few days we continued our course, sometimes 

 stopping to take temperature soundings for the first couple of 

 hundred fathoms. The weather was fine, with light northerly 

 and north-westerly breezes, which somewhat retarded our prog- 

 ress. On the afternoon of the 16th, we sighted the peaks of 

 Fogo and San lago, and after dark the lights of Porto Praya ; 

 and as the night was remarkably fine, we went into Porto Praya 

 Roads and anchored in twelve fathoms off the town. The next 



