128 FUNAFUTI: A SEQUEL 



plants, sometimes foraminifera, and sometimes corals 

 predominating ; but in the whole depth bored the same 

 genera and species of these various groups of organisms 

 take their part in building up the mass." * 



In the next place, the accumulation of debris in a talus 

 would result in the formation of a rude kind of stratifica- 

 tion, in which the successive layers of debris would be 

 found to slope at a somewhat steep angle, corresponding 

 to the angle of repose for such material, and this would 

 be rendered all the more evident by the occasional inter- 

 calation of layers of oceanic ooze. But here again the 

 core answers for itself in no uncertain terms. Professor 

 Judd enters rather fully into this important point, as 

 follows : " The question of the existence of anything 

 like stratification . . . was one to which special attention 

 was directed. Professor David, whose notes on the 

 specimens were of great service to us, called attention to 

 several cores, on the outside of which obscure markings 

 suggesting stratification, usually with a very steep dip, 

 were noticed by him. These cores were carefully cut 

 at right angles to the supposed dipping laminae, and in 

 all cases the appearance proved to be fallacious. . . . The 

 conclusion at which we arrived was that nowhere could 

 a stratification, such as might be expected in a talus- 

 formation, be found, but only such irregular accumulation 

 of detrital materials as takes place between and around 

 the corals ; and these appearances were presented at many 

 points, from the top to the bottom of the bore-hole, 

 whenever consolidated rock could be examined." 



Lastly, in the case of reef-growth over a talus, we 

 should expect to find a definite change in character on 

 passing from one mode of accumulation to the other, i.e., 

 at some depth between 10 and 45 fathoms. But of this, 

 again, the boring shows not the least trace ; from the 

 * Report, p. 174. 



