98 Prof. Trowbridge on Deep-sea Soundings. 



In the year 1845, Lieutenant (now Commander) Charles H. 

 Davis, U.S. Navy, while running a line of deep-sea soundings 

 across the Gulf-stream, under the direction of the Superintend- 

 ent of the Coast Survey, obtained one cast of 1350 fathoms, and 

 brought up a specimen of the bottom with the " specimen-cup " 

 of Lieut. H. S. Stellwagen, U.S. Navy. With regard to this 

 sounding, Lieut. Davis remarked as follows: — "U.S. Brig 

 'Washington/ Oct. 29th, 1845. Sounded with 1300 fathoms 

 hne (1| mile), and found bottom at that depth. . . . After the 

 lead was felt to strike the bottom, the line became slack, so that 

 the quartermaster could haul it in hand over hand. ... It appeared 

 to fall off again from the side of the bank, and took the remainder 

 of the line, amounting to 1350 fathoms " (in all). " The cup 

 came up filled with a greenish mud, which is preserved. ... At 

 3 P.M. sounded again with 715 fathoms line, and found the 

 same bottom as before." The cup referred to was the Stellwagen 

 cup, which is used by some at the present day. In the explora- 

 tions of Lieut. Davis, 95 specimens of the bottom, and 25 speci- 

 mens of water at various depths, were brought up and preserved*. 



* See Reports of Superintendent of Coast Survey for 1845, 1846, 1847, 

 1848. 



Tlie following interesting observations are cited from the Report for 

 1847, p. 25 : — " Collections of specimens of the bottom from soundings in 

 this section were first commenced by the late Lieutenant Commanding, 

 George M. Bache, U.S. Navy, and have been added-to every year since 

 1844, placed in small bottles for easy inspection, and dijy labelled. It was 

 the intention of tliat lamented officer to have classified them during the 

 past winter, and to have placed chai-acteristic specimens upon an off- 

 shore chart on a suitable scale, thus enabling the eye to generalize the 

 results so as to reproduce them methodically arranged, as upon a geolo- 

 gical map. In adclitiou to this, the microscopic examination of these spe- 

 cimens could hai'dly fail to develope interesting facts in regard to them, 

 some of which might prove of importance to navigators, as all would be to 

 general science. Professor J. W. Bailey of West Point, kindly commenced 

 an examination of this sort. ' All the deep-sea soundings,' he says (in a 

 letter to me on the subject), ' are of the highest interest, being filled with 

 organisms, particularly the calcareous Polythalamia, to an amount that is 

 really amazing — hundreds of millions existing in every cubic inch of these 

 green muds. 



" ' The most interesting specimen is the one labelled No. 1, latitude 

 38° 04' 40", longitude 73° 56' 4/", 90 fathoms. This is crowded with Poly- 

 thalamian forms, mostly large enough to be recognized by a practised eye 

 without the aid of a magnifier.' A figure or specimen which would enable 

 a practised eye to recognize these forms — and Professor Bailey has pro- 

 mised to illustrate these researches by di-awings — would render even this 

 first inspection of practical value. The ' large Textularia, having the orm 

 of a truncated pyramid, which characterizes No. 8, latitude 39° 31', longi- 

 tude 72° 11 ' 20", 89 fathoms, not being mistakeable for the forms abun- 

 dant in No. 1,' it is to be hoped that Professor Bailey will carry so pro- 

 mising a subject to a conclusion. He may add another to the aids fiu"- 

 nished by science to navigation." 



