MinceUaneoua. 83 



Newfouudland is subject to volcauic action, it would burely bo well 

 to sutisiy ourselves of the time stute of the cuso by direct experi- 

 ment ; and to adopt means for the protection of a cable against evil 

 conseciuences, should proof of voUanic action, either of this or any 

 more active kind, unfortunately manifest itself. 



"The determination of temperature at reguhir inteiTals from the 

 surface to extreme depths would also enable us to ascertain, with 

 somewliat greater accuracy than heretofore, the vertical limits of 

 the liulf-stream and great tidal wave ; and the point at which tho 

 waters of the ocean are influenced by the deep reflux from the Polar 

 towards the Equatorial regions*. 



" The observations comj)riscd under the fourth head (namely, 

 density and i)re8.sure) would of course only be carried on occa- 

 sionally and under circumstances calculated to yield the most trust- 

 worthy results. The same remark applies to the observations noted 

 under the four remaining heads t. 



" Lastly. I would suggest, in the event of the survey being carried 



* In I>r. Carpenter's Preliminaiy Report ( Proc. Roy. Soc. Dec. 1868, 

 p. 180), and Prof. \\ yville Tbomsou's ' Depths of the Sea,' pp. 35, 302, 

 303), very prominent allusion is made to niy having, in my North- 

 Atlantic Sea-bed, adopted Sir John Ilerschers and Sir James Ross's 

 doctrine of a permanent temperature of 39^ in the water at great depths 

 in the ocean. In both instances the allusion is couched in terms which 

 certainly convey the impression that Drs. C'ai-penter and Thomson had 

 not just as UTihesitatingly adopted the fallacy themselves. It is a re- 

 markable circiinistauce, too, that in the chapter in ' The Depths of the 

 Sea' specially devoted to '• Dceiy-sia Tnnpcrafine-s" (where, it' anywhere, 

 the opinion uf the authors prior to 18(38 on so important a point ought 

 to have been explicitly stated), the only approach to such an opinion ia 

 that which immediately succeeds a lengthy extract from my work, de- 

 scribed by Prof. Thomson as " an excellent resume of this fallacy given by 

 Dr. Wallich." "There can be no doubt " (Pruf. Thomson says) " that this 

 view, %\hich of /ofc (?) years has received almost universal acceptance, 

 is entirely erroneous '" (op. ctf. p. 304). The fact is that Prof. Thomson 

 had «» unhesitatingly adopted the fallacy that, in 'The .Annals' for Aug. 

 1869 (p. \2'2), he said — "Though I had often wondered what could be 

 the cause, I believed in this permanent temperatuie of the sea thoroughly, 

 and had even siKjyeMed the particular course [for the cruise of the 

 ' Lightning '], hecauw it nearly coincided uith the isutherni of 40^ F. !" It 

 is right that this should Ix- clearly understood, since vuj sole aim in 

 dwelling forcibly on a uniformly low temperature above the sea-bed, and 

 over the greater portion of the deep-sea area, was to show that to its 

 influence would be mainly attributahle the general uniformity in tho dis- 

 tribiition of animal life, which has already been found to prevail over that 

 vast area. But it was obviously immaterial to mv argument wJietber tho 

 teinpernture was permanent at 30" F., or ranged from 39° to 30', or even 

 lower (see 'The North-Atlantic Sea-l)ed,' pp. 104, lOo). The temperature 

 (»bs<'rvation8 taken on board the ' Bulldog (with which I had nothing 

 whatever to do) were unavoidably meagre and imperfect, every con- 

 sideration having necessarily given place to the prinuiry one of sounding, 

 for depth, along a given telegraph route. It was indeed deep-sea 

 researcn conducted under difficulties. 



t In 1868, in Prof Wyville Thomson's ' Depths of the Sea ' (p. 52), 

 this passage occms : — " One or two other questions of the nighest 

 scientific interest are to he solved by our proposed investigations. 1st. 

 The effect of pressure upon animal WU^.upnn trhirh there is yreat mifappre- 



