CHALK MAKERS, OR FORAMINIFERA. 61 



into account the past as well as the present, the 

 Foraminifera are the most ubiquitous and numerous 

 of all created things. That, living or dead, them- 

 selves, or their shells, far exceed in number all the 

 visible evidences we possess of any other kind of 

 organism. A few suggestions is all we would 

 venture, but from these it will appear that our 

 assumption was not a reckless one, and not alto- 

 gether without the basis of probability. 



Already we have hinted at the universal diffusion 

 of living Foraminifera over the sea bottom, down to 

 the lowest depths, from the poles to the tropics, or at 

 least as near to the pole as the absence of ice would 

 permit the condition of the sea bottom to be ascer- 

 tained. When it is remembered that the ocean 

 covers nearly three-fourths of the surface of the 

 globe, it must be admitted that the available space 

 for the distribution of living Foraminifera is ex- 

 tremely large. The result of all the dredgings and 

 soundings hitherto made has been the ubiquitous 

 presence of these minute animals. Drawings made 

 of the magnified portions of the sea bottom, attached 

 to the "Narrative of the Challenger Expedition," serve 

 to corroborate this fact, against which there is no 

 substantial evidence in any direction, so that it may 

 be accepted as a " fact incontrovertible," that the sea 

 bottom, at all depths, independent of latitude and 

 longitude, is 'inhabited by living Foraminifera. From 



