22 Field Columbian Museum — Zoology. Vol. VII. 



in the islands. The rain that falls, where it is not collected in 

 artificial tanks, soaks down into the porous rock until it mingles 

 near the level of the sea with the salt water with which the lower 

 parts of the rocks are saturated. The water in the ponds and 

 marshes, which occupy considerable areas in the less elevated parts 

 of the islands, is always brackish. . . . 



"The chain of islands is bordered on the south-east by a fringing 

 reef, distant perhaps a quarter of a mile on the average from the 

 shore. On the north side of the ellipse the line of the reef is nearly 

 continuous; but the only dry land is the little islet, or group of 

 islets, the largest of which, called North Rock, is about eight feet in 

 diameter and about fourteen feet in height. ..... 



' ' The depth of water in the elliptical lagoon inclosed by the outer 

 reef is generally six or eight fathoms, though there are many patches 

 of reef scattered through the lagoon. Outside of the reef the water 

 deepens gradually for a mile or more, the average depth at the dis- 

 tance of a mile being only about twelve fathoms. A little further 

 from the shore a more abrupt descent commences, the depth at a 

 distance of ten miles in every direction except the southwest being 

 from 1,500 to 2,250 fathoms. 'Twenty miles to the southwest- 

 by-west from the Bermudas there are two submerged banks, twen- 

 ty to forty-seven fathoms under water, showing that the Bermudas 

 are not completely alone, and demonstrating that they cover 

 a summit in a range of heights.' The Challenger expedition obtained 

 a sounding of 2,950 fathoms about 300 miles further on in the same 

 direction, indicating apparently that the range is not of great extent 

 in that direction." — Prof. William North Rice. 



The Bermuda islands offer numerous bays and other indenta- 

 tions containing sloping beaches of sand and gravel upon which 

 aquatic animals may readily be taken by seines. In only a few 

 places visited by the writer did low corals interfere with the use of 

 such api^aratus of caj)ture. During the course of an expedition 

 lasting from August 18 until November 10, 1905, almo.st all access- 

 ible fishing grounds along the shores and on the outlying soundings 

 were examined with great care and the commercial fishermen aided 

 by bringing in species which they believed to be desirable for the 

 collection. 



The c(jllccting outfit included all of the uj^paratus used l)y lisli- 

 ermen — seines, dipnets, fish pots, hand lines, spears — besides 

 dredges, trawls and tangles for work from a steamer on the Ciial- 

 lengcr and Argus banks. 



A numlHjr of now or rare species were obtained by resounding 



