176 THE ATLANTIC. [oHap, 11. 
On Tuesday, the 25th, a small dredge was lowered at 6.30 
AM. with 3500 fathoms of line (2500 fathoms of 24-inch rope 
and 1000 of 2-inch), and 2 ewt. leads attached 300 fathoms in 
advance. At 7.30 we sounded in 2800 fathoms, with a bottom 
of the same reddish ooze, and a temperature of 2° C. A series 
of temperatures were taken at intervals of 100 fathoms down to 
1000, the results agreeing closely with those of the previous 
series : 
Ube Cee eyese re erery: «> LO es 600) fathoms:: .-A'oece.. 2 Go8'C: 
LOO Rtathomsen see eee. 19 ‘0 HOO" “Si aereeie acre 5 5 
200 ee SA ea ho LE SO 800 Y «cla a ra RUNS s renee Des 
300 SM SON CSTE Eero Wt 3 900 e Eo Oa eo 
400 ve As ttevers Dounce) LOL TO 1000 e PO. ere 
500 = * SA IO Gc Oe ORT 2800 ‘S ‘bottoms 4.5. .eee 
At 5.15 p.m. the dredge came up clean and empty. It had ei- 
ther never reached the bottom, owing to some local current or 
the drift of the ship, or else every thing had been completely 
washed out of it on its way to the surface. The bottom water 
gave a specific gravity of 1°02504 at 19°-6 C., that of the sur- 
face being 1:02617 at 21°°3 C. While sounding, the current 
drag was tried, and indicated a slight north-westerly current. 
As the attempt to drag on the previous day had been unsuc- 
cessful, it was determined to repeat the operation with every 
possible precaution on the 26th. The morning was bright and 
clear, and the swell, which had been rather heavy the day be- 
fore, had gone down considerably. A sounding was taken 
about 10 o’clock a.m. with the “ Hydra” machine and 4 ewt. 
The sounding was thoroughly satisfactory, a sudden change of 
rate in the running-out of the line indicating in the most 
marked way when the weight had reached the bottom. Dur- 
ing the sounding, a current drag was put down to the depth 
of 200 fathoms, and it was then ascertained that, by means of 
management and by meeting the current by an occasional turn 
of the screw, the ship scarcely moved from her position during 
