chap, ii.] THE CRUISE OF THE < LIGHTNING: (J 5 



water. The operation seemed however to present no 

 special difficulty, and nearly every haul was success- 

 ful. The hottom was sand and gravel, mostly derived 

 from the disintegration of the old rocks of the Scottish 

 plateau. Animal life was not abundant, but several 

 groups were fairly represented. Sandy rhizopods of a 

 large size were numerous, and there were several con- 

 spicuous crustaceans and echinoderms, among the latter 

 an example of Astropeclen tenuispinus, of a brilliant 

 scarlet colour, which came up entangled on the line. 



On the 31st bad weather set in again, and we could 

 neither sound nor dredge. On the 1st of September 

 we got one temperature sounding in 550 fathoms with 

 — 1°*2 C, but could do no work. 



The next day, September 2, was more moderate, 

 and we dredged all day at a depth of only 170 fathoms 

 over a very restricted shoal, which, singularly enough, 

 we could not find when we sought for it the year 

 after in the ' Porcupine.' Here we found animal 

 life abundant and varied — a mixture of Celtic and 

 Scandinavian forms. The bottom was chiefly small 

 rounded pebbles of the dark anamesite of the Faeroes, 

 and sticking to them, siugly or in little groups like 

 plums on their stems, were many large specimens 

 of the rare brachiopod Terebratula cranium, O. P. 

 Muller, along with abundance of the commoner form 

 Terehratullna capiit-serpenlis, L. 



The following day, September 3, we were again in 

 deep water, about 500 fathoms, with a bottom tem- 

 perature a little below the freezing-point, the thermo- 

 meter at the surface giving 10 o, 5 C. Here we took 

 representatives of many invertebrate groups — rhizo- 

 pods, sponges, echinoderms, crustaceans, and molluscs; 



F 



