The Zoologist — Maech, 1874. 3885 



'gaim at Pto 'gmk. 



The Depths of the Sea ; an Account of the Dredging Cruises oj 

 H.M.SS. 'Porcupine'' and 'Lightning' in 1868, 1869 and 

 1870. By C, Wyville Thomson, LL.D., &c. London: 

 Macmillan & Co. 1873. 



Three years after the completion of these Cruises we are here 

 presented with the results. It is difficult to state with precision 

 the value of these results: it is difficult to say to what exact 

 extent the boundaries of human knowledge have been enlarged, 

 and whether the extension, be it what it may, offers an adequate 

 return for the labour and money expended in its production : 

 opinions on these points will widely differ, and I do not propose 

 to enter on these questions, or to discuss directly or indirectly 

 the cut bono of these laborious cruises. It is sufficient for my 

 purpose to say that both expeditions were undertaken by the 

 Admiralty at the instance of the Council of the Royal Society, 

 and that it was thought right that such an account should be laid 

 before the general public as might stimulate others, who have the 

 proclivities and the opportunity, to penetrate further into the new 

 and strange region on whose borders the three naturalists whose 

 names are associated in the work have been among the earliest to 

 make systematic inroads. 



It must, however, be understood that this volume, although not 

 the official record, has the full weight and authority of such record, 

 and that notwithstanding the name of Dr. Thomson stands alone 

 as the author of the work, it must be considered as combining the 

 observations of three of our most distinguished marine naturalists. 

 Dr. Carpenter, Mr. Gwyn Jeffries and Dr. Wyville Thomson. It 

 was originally intended that the work should have been the joint 

 production of these three, but difficulties in the way of such a 

 course seemed to present themselves, and it was finally decided 

 that Dr. Thomson should be the sole reporter, a decision we must 

 accept as satisfactory in every respect. 



The readers of the 'Zoologist' are fully aware that it is by 

 no means a first attempt to dredge the deep sea in search of 

 knowledge — knowledge not only of its inhabitants as new and 

 undescribed members of the world of animals, but also for the 



SECOND SERIES — VOL. IX. M 



