PROCEEDINGS 
OF THE 
HOLMESDALE NATURAL HISTORY CLUB. 
Muerrna, held at Reigate, 17th of January, 1896. 
Mr. ©. E. Salmon exhibited a fine series of plants, dried and 
beautifully mounted. 
Mr. A. W. Brown, of Christchurch, Oxford, gave an address 
on 
Lire IN THE DEEP SEA. 
After shortly tracing the history of our knowledge of the 
Deep-sea Fauna, the Lecturer stated that the lecture would deal 
with four points, viz. :—(1) The physical conditions of life at 
great depths in the ocean; (2) General characters of deep-sea 
_ life; (3) The characters of the more interesting members of 
the deep-sea fauna ; (4) The origin of the deep-sea fauna. 
(1) The physical conditions at great depths of the sea, as 
they affect animal life, may be summed up as follows. First, 
the pressure is enormously increased, at a depth of 2500 fathoms 
amounting to 23 tons to the square inch. Secondly, there is 
an absence of movement in the water, all waves being on the 
surface. ‘Then the temperature is very low, probably close 
upon freezing-point, though certainty as to this cannot be 
reached at present. Light probably does not penetrate below 
