cHap. ul.) THE CRUISES OF THE ‘PORCUPINE. $3 
upon the efficiency of the scientific appliances, of 
Dr. Carpenter assisted by a committee composed of 
the officers and a few of the members of the Royal 
Society. The ‘ Porcupine,’ though a small vessel, was 
well suited for the work ; thoroughly seaworthy, very 
steady, and fitted up for surveying purposes. Captain 
Calver and his officers had long been engaged in the 
arduous and responsible duty of conducting the sur- 
vey of the east coast of Britain, and were trained to 
minute accuracy and thoroughly versed in the use of 
instruments and in the bearings of scientific investi- 
gation. The crew were chiefly known and tried men, 
Shetlanders who had spent many successive summers 
in the ‘ Porcupine’ under Captain Calver’s command ; 
returning to their homes in Shetland for the winter, 
while the vessel was laid up and the officers employed 
in bringing up their office work at their head-quarters 
in Sunderland. 
The working of the dredge was superintended 
throughout by Captain Calver, whose trained ability 
very early gave him so complete a mastery over the 
operation that he found no difficulty in carrying it 
down to depths at which this kind of exploration 
would have been previously deemed out of the ques- 
tion. It is impossible to speak too highly of the skill 
he displayed, or too warmly of the sympathy he showed 
in our work. It is a pleasure to add that the other 
officers of the ‘ Porcupine,’ Staff-Commander Inskip, 
Mr. Davidson, and Lieutenant Browning, most heartily 
and zealously seconded their commander in promoting 
alike the scientific objects of the expedition and the 
welfare and comfort of all who were engaged in carry- 
ing them out. 
G 2 
