JOHN MURRAY 73 



plankton, and coral reefs — which Murray undertook on board 

 the " Challenger " has been most fruitful of results both in his 

 own hands and those of others. His plankton work has led 

 on to those modern planktonic researches which are closely 

 bound up with the scientific investigation of our sea-fisheries. 

 His observations on coral reefs, in conjunction with the 

 " Challenger " results as to depths of the ocean and the 

 presence of submarine volcanic elevations, resulted in his new 

 and most original theory as to the formation of " atolls," 

 which removed certain difficulties that had long been felt by 

 zoologists and geologists alike to stand in the way of the 

 universal acceptance of Darwin's well-known theory of coral 

 reefs and islands. 



His work on the deposits accumulating on the floor of the 

 ocean resulted, after years of study in the laboratory as well 

 as in the field, in collaboration with the Abbe Renard of the 

 Brussels Museum, afterwards Professor at Ghent, in the pro- 

 duction of the monumental Deep -sea Deposits volume, one 

 of the '' Challenger " reports, which first revealed to the 

 scientific world the detailed nature and distribution of the 

 varied submarine deposits of the globe and their relation to 

 the rocks forming the crust of the earth. 



These studies led, moreover, to one of the romances of 

 science which deeply influenced Murray's future life and 

 work. In accumulating material from all parts of the world 

 and all deep-sea exploring expeditions for comparison with 

 the " Challenger " series, some ten years later, Murray found 

 that a sample of rock from Christmas Island, in the Indian 

 Ocean, which had been sent to him by Commander (now 

 Admiral) Aldrich, of H.M.S. " Egeria," was composed of a 

 valuable phosphatic deposit. 



Murray's interest in this rock was at first solely in relation 

 to the " Challenger " deposits and its possible bearing on his 

 coral-reef theory ; but he soon realized its economic as well as 

 scientific interest, and was convinced that the island would be 

 of value to the nation. After overcoming many difficulties, 



