314 THE ATLANTIC. [chap. v. 



still subsist, and more especially by tlie oxidation of tlie prod- 

 ucts of the decomposition of surface organisms as they sink 

 through it toward the bottom. 



A great deal has yet to be done before we can be in a posi- 

 tion to generalize with safety on the many chemical questions 

 of great interest which have been raised during the progress of 

 the expedition. I hope, however, that the next two years may 

 see the water and gas analyses, and the analyses of the matters 

 of mineral and organic origin which form the deep-sea deposits, 

 well advanced ; and that the complete data in this department 

 may appear in the form of appendices to an early volume of the 

 official report. 



