CHAP. II. | THE CRUISE OF THE ‘ LIGHTNING? 65 
water. ‘The operation seemed, however, to present no 
special difficulty, and nearly every haul was success- 
ful. The bottom was sand and gravel, mostly derived 
from the disintegration of the old rocks of the Scottish 
plateau. Animal life was not abundant, but several 
groups were fairly represented. Sandy rhizopods of 
a large size were numerous, and there were several 
conspicuous crustaceans and echinoderms, among the 
latter an example of Astropecten tenuispinus, of a 
brillant scarlet colour, which came up entangled on 
the line. 
On the 31st bad weather set in again, and we could 
neither sound nor dredge. On the Ist of September 
we got one temperature sounding in 550 fathoms with 
—1°:2 C., but could do no work. 
The next day, September 2, was more moderate, 
and we dredged all day at a depth of only 170 fathoms 
over a very restricted shoal, which, singularly enough, 
we could not find when we sought for it the year 
after in the ‘ Poreupine.’ Here we found animal 
life abundant and varied—a mixture of celtic and 
scandinavian forms. The bottom was chiefly small 
rounded pebbles of the dark anamesite of the Feroes, 
and sticking to them, singly or in little groups like 
plums on their stems, were many large specimens 
of the rare brachiopod Terebratula cranium, O. F. 
M@U.uer, along with abundance of the commoner 
form Terebratulina capul-serpentis, L. 
The following day, September 3, we were again in 
deep water, about 500 fathoms, with a bottom tem- 
perature a little below the freezing-point, the thermo- 
meter at the surface giving 10°5 C. Here we took 
representatives of many invertebrate groups—rhizo- 
is 
