66 HIDDEN BEAUTIES OF NATURE 



scattered all through the calcareous mass of the deep- 

 sea globigerina ooze. These silicious sponges are 

 often found in great numbers, as in the globigerina 

 ooze off Santa Cruz, for instance, where numerous 

 specimens of an interesting new pheronema were 

 dredged, as many as ten to fifteen in a single haul. 

 The whole mass of the mud was so thoroughly im- 

 pregnated with spicules and with sponge sarcode as 

 to be sticky and viscid. More than once the dredge 

 must have plunged headlong into one of the ubiqui- 

 tous sponge beds the glairy mass like white of egg, 

 with a multitude of spicules distributed like hair in 

 mortar throughout the mud.' 



This, as well as the analyses of the bottoms, 

 plainly shows that the amorphous substance giving 

 to the mud its viscidity is not produced by sulphate 

 of lime in a flocculent state, but is due to the 

 presence of a mass of decomposed protoplasm the 

 remnants of all the animal life which has accumulated 

 fjr ages upon the bed of 'the ocean. This is slowly used 

 again by living animals, and kept from putrefaction 

 and decay by being preserved, in the excess of 

 carbonic acid, in regions where no rapid oxidation 

 takes place, either from currents, or waves, or from 

 atmospheric influences. 



An immense amount of silica must find its way 

 into the sea, and be immediately dissolved by the 

 excess of carbonic acid found near the bottom, while 

 only a portion of the calcareous mud can be taken up 

 in solution. Hence this silica is at once placed under 



