v DEEP-SEA SOUNDING. 359 



in the world at this moment, except the 

 American, is, as I know by actual experience 

 of it, more difficult and tedious, and less 

 sure at 500 fathoms, than sounding by the 

 pianoforte wire at 2,000 fathoms. And lastly, 

 there is the possibility of effecting a sounding 

 in cases in which, as in the case of the 

 Challenger in the Gulf Stream, the most 

 matured previous process fails altogether. I 

 think it highly desirable that the new method 

 should be taken up by our own Admiralty. 

 But innovation is very distasteful to sailors. 

 I have a semi-official letter to the effect 

 " When you have your apparatus perfected we 

 may be willing to try it." I may say that 

 it seems a little strange that after my having 

 intimated, in the month of July 1872, the 

 perfect success of pianoforte wire for sounding 

 in depths of 2,700 fathoms, the Challenger 

 was allowed to go to sea without taking 

 advantage of this process, and that a year 

 and a half later I should be told "When 

 you have perfected your instrument we may 



