398 Dr. G. C. Wallicli on Animal Life at great Sea- Depths. 



shown by him " in the case of the Mediterranean line, the 

 cable, as well as its enclosure of gutta percha, was pierced, at a 

 depth of between 60 and 70 fathoms, by the Xylophaga dorsalis." 

 And here follows the very remarkable and startling opinion that 

 " a sheathing of copper, or of any other metal which is not liable 

 to oxidation, would effectually prevent any such injury, and not 

 interfere with the flexibility of the cable !" 



No doubt Mr. Jeffreys is fortified with evidence in support of 

 his view that copper is not liable to oxidation when immersed 

 in sea-water. He must pardon me, however, if I venture to 

 impugn the assertion, and, further, if I impugn the fitness of 

 copper, on electrical grounds, to be employed as a sheathing 

 for submarine cables, at any depth whatever, even admitting 

 it to possess the necessary degree of flexibility. 



In the concluding portion of Mr. Jeffreys's communication, he 

 takes the "opportunity of remarking, injustice to the memory 

 of the gallant officer to whose explorations he had above referred, 

 that by means of his ' deep-sea clamm^ he (Sir J. Ross) succeeded 

 in taking up and bringing to the surface considerable quantities 

 of stones and mud (as much as 6 lbs. at a time) from the sea- 

 bottom at great depths," ivorms being obtained on one occasion 

 at 1000 fathoms; whilst "entangled on the sounding-line, at 

 the depth of 800 fathoms, was found a beautiful Coput-Medusie, 

 which appears to have measured no less than 2 feet in length 

 when fully expanded." And again, according to Sir J. Ross 

 (vol. ii. p. 5), " When the line came up, a small Star-fish was 

 found attached to it, below the point marking 800 fathoms. 

 Animals of a higher degree of organization (such as Mollusca 

 and Crustacea) were also procured, at rather less depths, in 

 Baffin's Bay." 



• Had Mr. Jeffreys confined himself to the performance of what 

 he considered an act of justice to the memory of Sir John Ross, 

 I, for one, should have been the last person to place in competi- 

 tion with the discoveries of that distinguished Arctic commander 

 any trifling additional light I may have been fortunate enough 

 to cast on the question of animal life at great depths in the sea. 

 But when, in order to make it appear that my " supposed dis- 

 covery," as Mr. Jeffreys is pleased to designate it, " was antici- 

 pated more than forty years ago," such meagre and unconnected 

 *' facts " are dragged forward, I cannot help thinking that the 

 chivalry of the " supposed" act of justice dwindles into a shadow. 

 I freely admit that, until Mr. Jeffreys drew attention to the 

 circumstance, I was unaware that animals had been proved to 

 exist at anything like the depths alluded to by Sir J. Ross. 

 Having spent twenty years of my life in India, this ignorance 

 on my part might perhaps be held to be excusable. But I am 



