324 CONDITION OF THE FLOOE OF THE OCEAN. 



in all that relates to geological time. I agree, generally speaking, 

 with the physicists, rather than with the biologists and geologists. 



PROGRESS OF OCEANIC RESEARCH. 



I have now touched on some of the problems and speculations sug- 

 gested by recent deep-sea explorations, and there are many others 

 equally attractive to which no reference has been made. It is abun- 

 dantly evident that for the satisfactory explanation of many marine 

 phenomena further observations and explorations are necessary. 

 Happily, there is no sign that the interest in oceanographical work has 

 is anv way slackened. On the contrary, the number of scientiiic men 

 and ships engaged in the study of the ocean is rapidly increasing. 

 Among all civilized peoples and in all quarters of the globe the eco- 

 nomic importance of many of the problems that await solution is 

 clearly recognized. 



We have every reason to be proud of the work continually carried 

 on by the officers and ships attached to the hydrographic department 

 of the British navy. They have surveyed coasts in all parts of the 

 world for the purposes of navigation, and within the past few years 

 have greatly enlarged our knowledge of the sea bed and deeper waters 

 over wide stretches of the Pacific and other oceans. The samples of 

 the bottom which are procured, being always carefully preserved by 

 the officers, have enabled ver}' definite notions to be formed as to the 

 geographical and bathvmetrical distribution of marine deposits. 



The ships belonging to the various British telegraph cable compa- 

 nies have done most excellent work in this as well as in other directions. 

 Even during the present year ]Mr. R. E. Peake has in the steamship 

 Britannia procured 477 deep soundings in the North Atlantic, besides 

 a large collection of deep-sea deposits and many deep-sea temperature 

 and current observations. 



The French have been extending the valuable work of the Talisman 

 and Travailleur^ while the Prince of Monaco is at the present moment 

 carrying on his oceanic investigations in the arctic seas with a large 

 new yacht elaborately and specially fitted out for such work. The 

 Russians have recently been engaged in the scientific exploration of 

 the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and a special ship is now employed 

 in the investigation of the arctic fisheries of the Murman coast under 

 the direction of Professor Knipowitsch. Admiral Makaroff has this 

 summer been hammering his way through arctic ice, and at the same 

 time carrying on a great variety of systematic observations and exper- 

 iments on board the J^n/mX— the most powerful and most efl^'ective 

 instrument of marine research ever constructed. Mr. Alexander 

 Agassiz has this year recommenced his deep-sea explorations in the 

 Pacific on board the U. S. S. Albatross. He proposes to cross the 

 Pacific in several directions, and to conduct investigations among the 



