DEEP-SEA DREDGINGS. 143 



just those matters which nature has been most careful 

 to conceal from us. 



The energy with which in recent times men have 

 sought to master the problem of deep-sea sounding 

 and deep-sea dredging is, perhaps, one of the most 

 striking instances ever afforded of the charm which the 

 unknown possesses for mankind. Not long ago, one of 

 the most eminent geographers of the sea spoke regret- 

 fully about the small knowledge men have obtained of 

 the depths of ocean. ' Greater difficulties,' he remarked, 

 - ' than any presented by the problem of deep-sea research 

 have been overcome in other branches of physical in- 

 quiry. Astronomers have measured the volumes and 

 weighed the masses of the most distant planets, and 

 increased thereby the stock of human knowledge. Is 

 it creditable to the age that the depths of the sea 

 should remain in the category of unsolved problems ? 

 that its " ooze and bottom " should be a sealed volume, 

 rich with ancient and eloquent legends and suggestive 

 of many an instructive lesson that might be useful and 

 profitable to man ? ' 



Since that time, however, deep-sea dredging has 

 gradually become more and more thoroughly under- 

 stood and mastered. When the telegraphic cable 

 which had lain so many months at the bottom of 

 the Atlantic was hauled on board the ' Great Eastern ' 

 from enormous depths, men were surprised and almost 

 startled by the narrative. The appearance of the 

 ooze-covered cable as it was slowly raised towards the 

 surface, and the strange thrill which ran through those 



