256 



NATURE 



\yan. i8, 1877 



2. A volume containing an account of the physical and 

 chemical observations and investigations, with a special 

 discussion thereon. To this volume will be appended 

 tables of analysis, tables of specific gravities, reports on 

 the microscopical examination of minerals, &c. 



3. A series of volumes, probably not less than six in 

 number, containing a detailed account of the fauna, and 

 plates illustrating the undescribed or imperfectly known 

 forms. 



In case of plates being required, the space available for 

 figures on each plate is not more than 11 by 8^ inches 

 (= 28 by I2"5 centimetres). It is intended that the plates 

 shall be, generally speaking, in lithograph ; but if any 

 form of engraving seem preferable in any case, a special 

 arrangement may be made. Woodcuts will be given 

 where required. 



1 undertake the editing of the work, and all manuscripts 

 and proofs of plates are to be sent to me. 



All packages and letters to be addressed — 



Professor Sir Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., 

 University, 



Edinhirgh. 

 and marked " Challenger^ 



The intention at present is that the preparation of all 

 the volumes shall go on simultaneously, and it is earnestly 

 desired that the different parts may be done as speedily 

 as is consistent with the utmost care and accuracy. 

 Authors are invited to enter into any anatomical or other 

 details which may be desirable for the full illustration of 

 the groups in their hands ; and their full consideration 

 is particularly requested of all questions bearing upon 

 geographical distribution, and upon the relation of the 

 deep-sea fauna to the faunas of the later geological 

 periods. 



Authors will be at full liberty to publish abstracts of 

 the results of their work during ils progress, in the pro- 

 ceedings of Scientific Societies ; but such communica- 

 tions should be made through nie or with my knowledge, 

 and "by permission of the Lords Commissioners of the 

 Treasury." 



I am directed to report to Government and to furnish 

 my accounts at certain intervals ; and in order that I may 

 be able to do so, authors are requested to report progress 

 and to render accounts and vouchers for any expenses 

 which they may have incurred, to me quarterly ; on or 

 before the ist of March, of June, of September, and of 

 December. 



In the following list of stations — 



1. The number is given by which each particular station 

 is referred to throughout. The first eight stations, to 

 which Roman numerals are attached, are to be considered 

 in a certain sense preliminary ; the regular series com- 

 mences with Station i {bis) on the 15th of February, 1873, 

 and is indicated by Arabic numbers up to 354. 



2. The date is given. 



3. The exact position of the ship at noon of the day on 

 which the observations were made. 



4. The depth in fathoms (= 6 English feet). 



5. An abbreviation, as it is given on the chart, indi- 

 cating the nature of the bottom : — 



r. (rock) indicates hard ground, where nothing was 

 brought up by the sounding instrument, there being at 

 the same time evidence that the tube had reached the 

 bottom. 



m. (mud), a material varying in colour, but derived 

 chiefly from the disintegration of the land. 



gl. oz. (globigerina ooze), a white or greyish deposit 

 formed in a great measure of the shells, entire or broken, 

 of foraminifera belonging to the genera Globigerina, Or- 

 bulina, Pulvinulina, and Hastigerina, usually with a 

 quantity of amorphous calcareous or earthy matter, and 

 many coccoliths. 



di. oz. (diatom ooze) indicates a deposit formed to a 



great extent of the frustules of diatoms which have sunk 

 from the surface. 



rad. oz. (radiolarian ooze) indicates a deposit composed 

 mainly of the skeletons of Polycystina and other Radio- 

 larians. 



r. cl. (red clay) indicates a deposit, very widely ex- 

 tended in deep water, of red, reddish, or grey aluminous 

 mud, such as would be produced by the decomposition of 

 a felspathic mineral. This deposit varies considerably in 

 character ; it seems to be derived from several sources, 

 but one of the most important of these appears to be the 

 decomposition of pumice and other volcanic products. 

 The " red clay " often contains concretionary nodules, 

 consisting chiefly of the oxides of manganese and iron. 



gr. oz. (grey ooze), and gr. m. (grey mud), usually indi- 

 cate an intermediate condition between Globigerina ooze 

 and red clay, or in some cases a fine-grained grey depo- 

 sit, formed in deep water, chiefly of land debris. 



The positions of the stations are shown on the accom- 

 panying chart. C. Wyville Thomson 



Edinburgh, January 2 



PROF. AGASSIZ ON THE ''CHALLENGER'' 

 COLLECTLONS 



■pROF. AGASSIZ, who has come to this country for 

 -»- the express purpose of examining the Challenger 

 Collection, has kindly sent us the following notes on what 

 he has already seen : — 



I have seen a great many alcoholic collections of marine 

 animals made by direction of different government ex- 

 peditions, and in no case have I seen one in a better state 

 of preservation, or where greater care had been taken to 

 insure the accuracy of the locality. Those who work up 

 the material will have the double advantage of working on 

 admirably-preserved collections, and of being absolutely 

 certain of the exact locality of their specimens. Sir 

 Wyville Thomson has already called attention, in his 

 Preliminary Reports to the Royal Society and his Lec- 

 ture before the British Association at Glasgow, to many of 

 the most interesting things collected, and he has also 

 alluded to the amount of the material brought together. 

 I may perhaps give a better idea of the magnitude of the 

 collections by stating that if a single individual, having 

 the knowledge of the eighteen or twenty specialists into 

 whose hands the collections are to be placed, were to work 

 them up, he would most certainly require from seventy to 

 seventy-five years of hard work to bring out the results 

 which the careful study of the different departments ought 

 to yield. 



We may assume that the work of the Challenger has 

 probably accomplished for the depths of the ocean in 

 general what the American and English expeditions of 

 1 866-1 869 did for the North Atlantic, for it certainly is 

 remarkable how much these expeditions, working over a 

 comparatively limited area, contributed to the knowledge 

 of the deep-sea fauna, and how little of novelty has been 

 added by the subsequent and more extended work of the 

 Challenger over the same ground. Judging from these 

 premises, we may fairly say that hereafter, wliile any new 

 expedition will undoubtedly clear up many of the points 

 left doubtful by the Challenger, a.ndi. may carry out special 

 lines of investigation only partly sketched out, yet we 

 can hardly expect them to do more than fill out the grand 

 outlines laid down by the great English expedition. 



To attain the best possible results it is of the utmost 

 importance that the collections brought home should be 

 placed in the hands of specialists who are thorough mas- 

 ters of their respective departments. The scientific 

 public will therefore hear with the greatest satisfaction 

 that the Government has left the collections in the hands 

 of Sir Wyville Thomson, who is to direct the publica- 

 tions until the whole of this invaluable material is 

 thoroughly worked out. 



I 



