NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 23 



The principal object of the proposed Expedition is understood to be to investigate the physical and 

 biological conditions of the great Ocean basins ; and it is recommended for that purpose to pass down the coast 

 of Portugal and Spain, to cross the Atlantic from Madeira to the West-Indian Islands, to go to Bermuda, 

 thence to the Azores, the Cape Verde Islands, the Coast of South America, and across the South Atlantic to 

 the Cape of Good Hope. Thence by the Marion Islands, the Crozets, and Kerguelen Land, to Australia and 

 New Zealand, going southwards en route, opposite the centre of the Indian Ocean, as near as may be with 

 convenience and safety to the southern Ice-barrier. From New Zealand through the Coral Sea and Torres Straits, 

 westward between Lombok and Bali, and thence through the Celebes and Sulu Seas to Manila, then eastward 

 into the Pacific, visiting New Guinea, New Britain, the Solomon Islands • and afterwards to Japan, where some 

 considerable time might be profitably spent. From Japan the course should be directed across the Pacific to 

 Vancouver Island, then southerly through the eastern trough of the Pacific, and homewards round Cape Horn. 

 This route will give an opportunity of examining many of the principal ocean phenomena, including the Gulf- 

 stream and Equatorial currents ; some of the biological conditions of the sea of the Antilles ; the fauna 

 of the deep water of the South Atlantic, which is as yet unknown, and the specially interesting fauna 

 of the borders of the Antarctic Sea. Special attention should be paid to the botany and zoology of the Marion 

 Islands, the Crozets, Kerguelen Land, and any new groups of islands which may possibly be met with in the 

 region to the south-east of the Cape of Good Hope. Probably investigations in these latitudes may be difficult ; 

 it must be remembered, however, that the marine fauna of these regions is nearly unknown, that it must bear a 

 most interesting relation to the fauna of high northern latitudes, that the region is inaccessible except under 

 such circumstances as the present, and that every addition to our knowledge of it will be of value. For the 

 same reasons the Expedition should, if possible, touch at the Auckland, Campbell, and especially the Macquarie 

 Islands. Particular attention should be paid to the zoology of the sea between New Zealand, Sydney, New 

 Caledonia, and the Fiji and Friendly Islands, as it is probable that the Antarctic fauna may be found there at 

 accessible depths. New Britain and New Ireland are almost unknown, and from their geographical position a 

 special interest attaches to their Zoology, Botany, and Ethnology. The route through this part of the Pacific 

 will give an opportunity of checking and repeating previous observations on the structure of coral-reefs and the 

 growth of coral, and of collecting series of volcanic rocks. The Japan current will also be studied, and the 

 current along the coast of California. The course from Japan to Vancouver Island and thence to Valparaiso 

 will afford an opportunity of determining the physical geography and the distribution of life in these regions, of 

 which at present nothing is known. 



I. Physical Observations. 



In crossing the great Ocean-basins, observations should be made at stations the positions of which are 

 carefully determined, chosen so far as possible at equal distances, the length of the intervals being of course 

 dependent on circumstances. At each station should be noted the time of the different observations, the state 

 of the weather, the temperature of the surface of the sea, the depth, the bottom temperature determined by the 

 mean of two Miller-Casella thermometers, the specific gravity of the surface and bottom water. The nature of 

 the bottom should be determined by the use of a sounding instrument constructed to bring up samples of the 

 bottom, and also, if possible, by a haul of the dredge. When practicable, the amount and nature of the gases 

 contained in the water, and the amount and nature of the salts and organic matter, should be ascertained. As 

 frequently as possible, especially in the path of currents, serial temperature soundings ought to be taken either 

 with the instrument of Mr. Siemens or with the Miller-Casella thermometer, and in the latter case at intervals 

 of 10, 50, or 100 fathoms, to determine the depth and volume of masses of moving water derived from different 

 sources. 



The simple determination of the depth of the ocean at tolerably regular distances throughout the entire 

 voyage is an object of such primary importance that it should be carried out whenever possible, even when 

 circumstances may not admit of dredging, or of anything beyond sounding. The investigation of various 

 problems relating to the past history of the globe, its geography at different geological epochs, and the existing 



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