BACILLARIAN BEDS. 27 



I will detail it here. First: It is in "The Cryptogamic 

 Botany of the Antarctic Voyage in H. M. Discovery Ships 

 ' Erebus ' and 'Terror' in the Years 1839-1843," by Joseph 

 Dalton Hooker, 1845, and in " The Transactions of the British 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, Oxford, 1847." 

 In the latter Dr. Hooker says : — 



"The waters and especially the newly formed ice of the 

 whole Antarctic Ocean between the parallels of 60° and 80° 

 south were found by the author to abound in an order of 

 organisms, whose true nature had until very recently been dis- 

 puted ; but which the recent discoveries of Mr. Thwaites in 

 England had proved to belong to the vegetable kingdom. 

 This order occurred in such countless myriads as to stain the 

 sea everywhere of a pale, ochreous brown, in some cases caus- 

 ing the surface of the ocean, from the locality of the ships as 

 far as the eye could reach, to assume a pale brown color. 

 Though particularly abundant in the Icy Sea, these plants 

 are probably uniformly dispersed over the whole ocean ; and 

 being invisible from their minuteness, can only be recognized 

 when washed together in masses and contrasted with some 

 opaque substance. They were invariably found in the stom- 

 achs of Salpse and other sea animals, in all latitudes between 

 that of the north tropic and the highest parallel attained by 

 the Antarctic expedition. Many processes were employed for 

 obtaining the species, which on being brought to Europe were 

 placed in the hands of Prof. Ehrenberg, of Berlin, for exami- 

 nation and publication. A consideration of the results of 

 Prof. Ehren berg's examination, and of his observations on 

 these plants, has led Dr. Hooker to the following results : — 



" I. That a vegetation very different from Eichens, 

 Mosses, etc., (orders which had hitherto been supposed to 

 comprise the most Antarctic vegetables), abound in the waters 

 of the Antarctic Circle, the species increasing in numbers with 

 the latitude up to the highest point attained by man. 



"II. That on this vegetation the whole of the animal 

 kingdom, which swarms in the waters of the Antarctic Ocean, 



