NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 367 



CHAPTER X. 



From Kerguelen to M c Donald Islands and Heard Island — Notes on the reproduction of certain Echinoderms from 

 the Southern Ocean — Heard Island to the Antarctic Circle and Australia — Icebergs of Antarctic Regions. 



Kerguelen to M c Donald Islands and Heard Island. 



On the 2nd February, the day after leaving Kerguelen Island, the weather in the 

 forenoon being fine and clear, a successful sounding and dredging were obtained in 

 150 fathoms, on a hard bottom (Station 150). The bottom was covered with a coarse 

 gravel ; the dredge brought up a large number of stones, fragments of rocks of irregular 

 form, varying in size from 1 to 7 centimetres in diameter, with the angles more or less 

 rounded, but much less so than those of ordinary rolled pebbles. They were blue-black, 

 and the majority had a compact structure and were fine grained, while others were porous 

 with a rough surface. Macroscopic-ally they appeared to be basalts or basaltic lavas, but 

 examined with the microscope it was seen that they belonged to the felspathic basalts 

 (dolerite) ; among these volcanic fragments were noticed two or three pieces of granite 

 and one of sandstone. The majority of these stones were overgrown by Foraminifera, 

 Sponges, Actiniaria, Brachiopods, Ascidians, Serpulce, and Polyzoa. 



The dredge procured representatives of nearly all the invertebrate types. In the 

 zoological Reports already published there are described twenty-two new species and 

 three new genera from this locality. Of these there are seven new species of Tunicata 

 including a new genus ; seven new species of Gasteropoda, including a new genus, four 

 new species of Ophiuroidea, and a new genus of Actiniaria. At noon the ship again 

 proceeded under sail towards Heard Island, but at 1 p.m. a dense fog came on, so 

 that at 3 p.m. it became advisable to bring to on the port tack under double-reefed 

 topsails, as it was deemed imprudent to proceed further, not only on account of the 

 uncertain position of the islands, but also because it is no unusual thing for icebergs to 

 be seen in this locality ; in fact the captains of the whaling schooners met at Kerguelen 

 said that they passed two on their passage from Heard Island in January. . At 5 p.m. 

 no bottom was obtained at 425 fathoms, but at midnight a sounding was obtained in 92 

 fathoms. 



On the 3rd February, at 6 a.m., bottom was again obtained in 80 fathoms, but 

 previously, at 1, 2, 3, and 4 a.m., ground was not struck with 130 fathoms of line. This 

 indicates the rocky, uneven nature of the bottom between Kerguelen and Heard Islands. 

 As the weather remained thick and foggy all day, it was impossible to prosecute the 

 search for Heard Island. The wind was light and variable with a long westerly swell. 

 The fog lifting for a few minutes at 9.30 a.m., an observation of the sun was obtained. 



On the 4th, at 4.30 p.m., the ship wore and stood to the southward, with the intention 



