376 
NATURE 
[AUGUST 14, 1902 
H YDROGRAPHICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
“PRINCESSE ALIC. 
(eee yacht Princesse Alice, with the Prince of Monaco 
on board, left Monaco on July 18 and arrived at 
Gibraltar on the evening of July 22, having been detained 
some hours by the pursuit of a school of Orca gladiator 
and the capture of one of them. The whale hunt took 
place within sight of the rock. Having coaled, the ship 
left Gibraltar on the evening of July 23, and shaped a 
course for the Azores. On July 24 an interesting sound- 
ing was made in lat. 36° 6’ N., long. 10° 16’ W. 
(Paris). The depth was 1473 metres, and the temperature 
of the bottom water was 94 C. As this thermometer 
was mounted so as to be overturned by the motion of a 
small screw propeller, its indication was not entitled to 
complete confidence ; but when the dredge, coming from 
the same depth, brought a quantity of mud which had a 
temperature of about 8°75 C., it was evident that the 
conditions as regards temperature were very different 
from those which obtain in the open waters of the 
North Atlantic. At the above depth the temperature 
could not be expected to be above 4°°5 C. It is evident 
that this sounding struck one of the main drains out of the 
abysmal regions of the Mediterranean, and furnishes evi- 
dence of the drining down, to use a stoker’s expression, 
of the waters of that sea, of which a more particular 
description can be found in the article “‘ Mediterranean ” 
of the “ Encyclopzedia Britannica.” 
Unfortunately, no sample of the bottom water was 
procured, and confirmatory evidence of its salinity is 
lacking, but the excess of temperature is so great that 
we may use it with perfect confidence in estimating the 
composition of the water, considered as a mixture of the 
deep water of the Mediterranean with that of the 
neighbouring regions of the North Atlantic. 
If we take the original temperature of the Mediter- 
ranean water in the mixture to be 13° C. and that of the 
Atlantic water tobe 4°°5 C., it consists of 50 per cent. of 
Mediterranean and 50 per cent. of Atlantic water. This 
is a spot where, with adequate means, with the necessary 
skill and experience, and, above all, with sufficient 
patience, a very fine piece of oceanographical work can 
be done. 
Continuing westwards, the ship’s course passed close to 
the Gorringe or Getysburg bank. As the former Przzcesse 
Alice spent July 25, 1894, on this bank, when enormous 
quantities of fish were taken with the line, the Prince 
decided to spend July 25, 1902, on the same spot. The 
fishing was about equally successful, but there was not the 
same surprise or novelty about the experience. The 
depth of water on the bank is very uneven and the 
surface of the bottom very rough. The following sound- 
ings, taken when searching for the shallowest part, are 
given in the order in which they were made: 192, 146, 
200, 122, 83, 177 metres. In the evening the westward 
course was resumed, and it was shaped so as to pass over 
the position of the Josephine bank. This bank was dis- 
covered a short time before the Challenger sailed, and 
at the beginning of the cruise it was a question whether 
she should not make a station on it ; but, on the one hand, 
it was felt that the ship had been fitted out for the in- 
vestigation of deep and not of shoal waters, and on the 
other the bank did not lie in her route either from 
the Channel to Gibraltar or on that from Gibraltar to 
Madeira. Moreover, the interest which attaches to 
oceanic shoals and to their study was not, and could not 
be, at that time recognised. 
On July 26 soundings were obtained, gradually shoal- 
ing to 1038 metres with hard bottom. This was taken to 
be on the eastern escarpment of the bank, and one of the 
Prince’s latest zasses or traps, made of wicker-work, was 
sent down and buoyed, with lights. The ship was kept 
near during the night, and early in the morning the pro- 
NO. 1711, VOL. 66] 
cess of heaving up was begun. It was continued with 
much patience, but the cable had evidently hooked on 
the rocky bottom, and it finally carried away. Had it 
been the zasse which had got fixed, it would have come 
away quite easily, because it would have been torn to 
pieces. The remainder of the day was spent in sounding 
over the bank, in so far as time permitted, and the results 
are rather remarkable. 
In sharp contrast with the Gorringe bank, the depths 
on which are so uneven, the soundings made on the 
Josephine bank revealed a uniformity of depth which is 
astonishing. The superficial area of the bank is evidently 
very considerable, but in the time at disposal it was im- 
possible even roughly to delineate it. An area of about 
three miles square was sounded over, and the depths are 
here feiven in the order in which they were obtained : 
218, 230, 220, 219, 211, 216, 218, 215, 212, 215, 189, 190, 
204, 208 metres. The descriptive value of these figures 
cannot be excelled. A successful, but in no way very 
remarkable, dredging was made in this water. In the 
evening the route was continued in the direction of Ponta 
Delgada, inthe island of St. Michael. Soundings were 
obtained in 4275 and in 2589 metres, and the writer was 
enabled to attach to the sounding lines piezometers of two 
different and rather novel patterns, and thus to resume the 
experiments on compressibility at great pressures which 
he began on the Chad/enger. The instruments acted quite 
satisfactorily, and it is hoped that useful results will be 
obtained with them. On the morning of July 31, when 
only a few miles off the coast of St. Michael, the dredge 
was put over in 1189 metres, and a very rich haul was 
obtained. 
Although no very definite or detailed programme 
exists, it is the Prince’s intention to work among the 
islands for a week or two, then to make an excursion 
southwards to the very deep water which lies between 
this archipelago and the Canary Islands, and thence to 
work homewards so as to arrive at an European port by 
the middle of September. Up to the present date the 
weather has been everything that could be desired, and 
the bright, bracing climate of these islands is invigorating 
and refreshing. J. Y. BUCHANAN. 
Yacht Princesse Alice, August 1. 
NOTES. 
THE impressive rite of the coronation of King Edward was 
performed on Saturday last in circumstances of unequalled 
splendour. All who witnessed the spectacle must have been 
moved by feelings of loyalty and love for their Sovereign 
and country, and of pride in the history of the British race. 
Few men of science appear to have been invited to the function, 
though the nation owes so much to them. Scientific knowledge 
combined with medical skill has brought the King safely through 
a period of great danger and suffering, and given us all cause 
for thankfulness at our monarch’s return to health. The modern 
science of electricity contributed as much as the medieval 
pageantry to make the day memorable. But the ceremony 
belongs more to the past than to the future ; it is the symbol of 
unity between the King and his people, and it shows the basis 
of liberty of thought and action which is our national heritage, 
and without which progress is impossible. The past has truly 
been glorious, but the future needs the development of new 
attributes of national character if we are to maintain our position 
among the peoples of the world. We trust that the reign or 
King Edward VII. will not only be long and happy, but that it 
will be characterised by the cultivation of the scientific spirit 
which will promote its prosperity. 
A SPECIAL number of the Aé¢z is devoted to the anniversary 
meeting of the Reale Accademia dei Lincei, held at Rome on 
June 1 under the patronage of the King and Queen of Italy. 
