386 
NATURE 
ee Ee a Se es Le, 7 
the whole fine. We have taken several successful navigative 
sounds at great depths, and we have trawled successfully 
at 2,125 fathoms, and recovered many interesting animal 
forms, several of them new to science, and others of 
extreme rarity and beauty. Still we must regard our work 
up to the present time as only tentative. The weather 
has been against us. It is altogether a new experiment 
to dredge from so large a ship, and it seems to present 
some special difficulties, or at all events to require some 
management. The weight of the ship is so great that 
there can be no “give and take” between it and the 
dredge, such as we have in the case of a smaller vessel. 
If there is any way on, the impulse to the dredge is 
irresistible, and seems to tend to jerk it off the ground. 
This difficulty can no doubt be met, but the only way of 
meeting it appears to be by using a length of rope greatly 
in excess of the depth—and having weights. A single 
dredging operation may thus occupy a great length of 
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time, but in compensation we have the greater size an 
efficiency of this dredge. The few trials which we have 
alr: ady made have beenall in the direction of improvement, 
and I have little doubt that under Captain Nares’ skilful 
management what little difficulty is still felt will shortly 
disappear. ad 
As I hope to contribute to NATURE from time to time 
a series of articles giving the results of our voyage, it may 
be well to commence by giving a sketch of the general 
scope of our operations, and the means and appliances at 
our disposal. 
The Challenger isa spare-decked corvette of 2,000 tons 
displacement. This particular build gives her an immense 
advantage for her present purposes, as she has all theaccom- 
modation of a frigate, with the handiness and draught of 
water of a corvette. Sixteen of the eighteen 68-pounders 
which form the armament of the C/ad/enger have been 
removed, and the main-deck is almost entirely set aside 
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for the scientific work. The after-cabin is divided 
into two by a bulk-head, and the two little rooms | 
thus formed—still gay with mirrors, and pictures, and | 
new chintz, and bright with home faces—are allotted 
to Captain Nares and myself. The fore cabin, a hand- | 
some room, 30ft. long by about 12 ft. wide, into which | 
these private cabins open, the captain and I use as 
a sitting room, the port-end with its writing-table and | 
work-table, and its book-cases packed with old home | 
favourites, being appropriated to my use and that of my 
secretary Mr. Wild ; while the captain has arrangements 
at the starboard end of the same kind. Two sets of 
cabins have been specially built on the after-part of the 
main-deck for this difficult part of the scientific work. 
On the port side a commodious zoological work-room is 
occupied by the naturalist of the civilian staff, while the 
chart room corresponds with it on the opposite side. 
Towards the middle of the main-deck on the port side 
“ 
CHALLENGER” 
there is a dark room and a working room, for the photo- 
grapher, and on the starboard side Mr. Buchanan has his 
chemical and physical laboratory. 
Nearly the whole of the fore-part of the main-deck is 
occupied by the dredging and sounding gear, Mr, Siemens’s 
photometric and thermometric apparatus, and the more 
cumbrous of our machines, such as the hydraulic pump, 
the aquarium, and other very valuable articles, of which 
a detailed description will be given hereafter. 
I feel justified in going even so far as to say that the 
arrangements for scientific work in the Challenger leave 
little or nothing to be wished for. Captain Nares and his 
officers not only do everything which care and skill can 
accomplish to further our objects, but, having naturally a 
certain advantage over the civilians in rough weather, 
they keep us up to the mark by the lively interest which 
they take in the success of our operations. There is a 
common mess in a large ward-room on the lower deck, 
[Mar. 20, 1873 
