THE DEPTH AND MARINE DEPOSITS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 9 



upon such masses of decomposed vegetable matter as we found on this ex- 

 pedition. There was hardly a haul taken which did not supply a large 

 quantity of water-logged wood, and more or less fresh twigs, leaves, seeds 

 and fruits, in all possible stages of decomposition." 



Second Expedition. — In 1897 Dr. Agassiz explored the coral reefs of 

 the Fiji Islands, and published an interesting account^ of his results, but 

 no bottom deposits were collected. 



TJiird Expedition. — In 1899 and 1900 Dr. Agassiz made an extended 

 cruise in the tropical Pacific, proceeding from San Francisco to the 

 Marquesas, Paumotu, Society, Cook, Friendly, and Fiji groups of islands, 

 thence through the EUice, Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline, and Ladrone groups 

 of islands to Japan. The following notes on the bottom-deposits are 

 extracted from Dr. Agassiz's preliminary report^ on the scientific results 

 of the expedition : — 



"At Station 2, 2368 fathoms, lat. 28° 23' N., long. 126° 57' AV., the 

 trawl came up with the bag full of red clay and of manganese nodules, sili- 

 ceous sponge spicules, a large pink Benthoecetes, spines of Pliorinosoma, 

 Euphronides, and Benthodytes in fragments. Together with the manganese 

 nodules came up many sharks' teeth, whale ear-bones and other fragments 

 of cetaceans more or less coated with manganese. There were a number of 

 species of sharks represented : Carcharodon, Lamna, Oxyrhina, Carcharias. 

 There were also a number of flat slabs coated with manganese, the majority 

 from three to four inches thick, but many were nearly six inches through. 

 We must have brought up at least 800 pounds' weight of nodules. The 

 slabs seemed to.be composed of volcanic ash. There were many rounded 

 masses of pumice covered by manganese and fragments of the stem of a 

 Gorgonian (Isis) coated with manganese. 



" At this station we obtained 116 sharks' teeth, a few ear-bones and other 

 bones of whales and dolphins. 



"Note. — Sir John Murray informs me that at Station 2 some of the material which 

 seemed to be manganese nodules proved to be rocks, evidently of continental origin, covered 

 with a thin coating of manganese. 



"Mr. J. J. H. Teall, of the Geological Survey of England, who examined these rocks, 

 reports that they are a fragment of a rounded, pebble, consisting of a typical hornblende 

 andesite ; a subangular fragment of a pale-green serpentine ; an angular fragment of a 

 fine-grained sandstone composed of grains of quartz, felspar, and epidote, minute grains of 



1 Bull. Mus. Camp. ZnoL, Vol. XXXIII., 1899. 



2 Mem. Mas. Comp. ZooL, Vol. XXVI., 1902, pp. "0-81. 



