THE GREAT DEEPS 105 



By the beginning of the nineteenth century 

 imagination was being corrected by scientific 

 investigation, and people were becoming dis- 

 inclined to believe more than they could see. 

 Apparatus for research was still very imperfect, 

 and we find a great English naturalist, Edward 

 Forbes, in 1850, declaring his belief that there 

 are no living animals below 300 fathoms. 

 And this in spite of the fact that in 1818 Sir 

 John Ross dredged a Brittle-Star (Astrophyton) 

 from 800 to 1000 fathoms. 



Even when animals were brought up in the 

 net from considerable depths, it was objected 

 that there could be no certainty that these were 

 not caught on the way up. But that living 

 creatures existed at much greater depths than 

 had been supposed was suddenly proved beyond 

 all doubt by an accident. A submarine cable 

 broke, and when the two ends were fished up 

 for repair, they were found encrusted with 

 several different kinds of animals. This dis- 

 covery gave a great impetus to investigation. 

 It was too costly for private enterprise, but the 

 Governments of various countries, Britain, 

 France, Norway, Italy, and the United States, 

 took the matter in hand, and expedition after 

 expedition was sent out, with special equipment 



