38 Original Articles. [ Jan. 
contrary, the bed of the Atlantic may present features the most oppo- 
site to those that have been ascribed to it. But let us not be misunder- 
stood. It is neither our intention to assert, nor do we believe, that 
insuperable alternations of level are likely to be encountered. We 
simply deprecate the hasty adoption of a view so unsubstantiated by 
proof, and so calculated, if erroneous, to interfere with the accomplish- 
ment of one-ef the most important enterprises of the day. 
It skould be borne in mind, that the supposed plateau does not 
comprise a limited area, but one extending for upwards of a thousand 
miles across the basin of the Atlantic. Now, there is no parallel 
case to this in any portion of the present dry land. And, since 
there is no ground for the belief that such a vast area could possibly 
have remained unaffected by the agencies which produce modifications 
in the earth’s crust elsewhere; it is—to say the least of it—extremely 
improbable that so signal an exception should occur only along that 
portion of the sea-bed which has been selected as the site of the Tele- 
graphic Cable. We say only, because, judging from soundings taken 
elsewhere, it is manifest that alternations of level are the rule rather 
than the exception, and that, in some cases, they are of an important 
kind. 
But it is not necessary to have recourse to soundings, in order to 
prove the accuracy of this opinion. The islands that rise so abruptly 
in many portions of the Atlantic, if reduced somewhat in elevation, 
might occur over and over again within the intervals at which the 
depths have been recorded, and yet be completely overlooked. Their 
existence is known simply because they are lofty enough to appear 
above water. It would be an act of rashness, therefore, to assume that 
formations similar in their character, but of smaller size, do not occur 
in positions where they still remain unrecognized. 
Of what then, it may be asked, does our knowledge regarding the 
contour and composition of the sea-bed really consist? The answer 
to this question is by no means unsatisfactory. Thus, it is certain 
that in no region of the ocean in which soundings have heretofore 
been attempted with adequate apparatus, is the depth so inordinate as 
to be beyond reach. It is equally certain that, as a general rule, the 
depths are moderate—that is to say, rarely exceeding 2,500 fathoms, 
or a trifle under three miles; that, for the most part, the bottom is 
composed of a soft but tenacious mud, consisting either of an admix- 
ture of organic and inorganic débris, or of one of these constituents 
more or less uncombined with the other; and lastly, and pre-eminently 
perhaps, that deep-seated currents, if they prevail at all, are exceed- 
ingly rare and too feeble to produce the slightest deleterious effect 
upon a submerged Telegraphic Cable. These, we venture to say, are 
no unsatisfactory results when weighed against the limited and imper- 
fect nature of the opportunities that have hitherto been afforded for 
the exploration of the sea-bed; and so far from being of a dishearten- 
ing tendency, they offer conclusive evidence that the perfection of our 
knowledge with regard to the conditions prevailing along any given 
tract of the sea-bed, falls readily within our powers, and is merely a 
question of time and perseverance, 
