26 EDWARDS : 



Bacillaria. In New Zealand, Hector considers the Bacillarian 

 rocks to be Cretaceous — or rather, Upper Cretaceous. Now 

 I have to announce that in my opinion they are Recent. And 

 so they have been thought for some years. These all contain 

 marine forms of Bacillaria, or rather those that live in the 

 ocean water. I do not mean along shore, but in the midst of 

 the ocean. But marine, brackish and fresh water are mis- 

 leading terms. For we find them in ocean and along shore 

 where they are influenced by fresh water, and even in fresh 

 water away from the influence of the sea. 



But let me state exactly what is known of the deposits as 

 revealed in soundings. 



The first successful attempt to bring up and examine the 

 soundings was made in 1818 by Sir John Ross, who made a 

 voyage to the Arctic regions in that year. This is detailed in 

 the appendix to the narrative of his soundings in Baffin's Bay 

 in 72° 30' N. and 77° 15' W., when he succeeded in bringing 

 up from 1050 fathoms (or 6300 feet ) " several pounds " of a 

 "fine, green mud" which formed the bottom of the sea in 

 that region. No microscopical analysis of this mud is recorded. 

 Captain (afterwards Sir Edward) Sabine, who accompanied 

 Sir John Ross at one time on this cruise, says this mud was 

 " soft and greenish and that the lead sank several feet into it." 

 Microscopical science was young then, and in 18 18 Foramen- 

 ifera, Radiolaria and Bacillaria were comparativ^ely unknown. 

 At any rate, the soundings were essentially the same micro- 

 scopically as those brought home by the U. S. S. " Tusca- 

 rora," which I have examined and reported upon. A similar 

 " fine, green mud " was found to compose the sea bottom in 

 David Straits by Goodsir, in 1845. As I have said, nothing 

 was spoken of the microscopic examination of this mud, but 

 it was reported on by Sir J. D. Hooker, who first described it 

 as coming from the Atlantic Ocean region. In this case it 

 was green, but light colored, almo.st white, and came from 

 near the southern pole. It was almost entirely made up of 

 the lorica' of Bacillaria. As it is desciilicd in two scarce books 



