6 EXPEDITION OF THE “ALBATROSS,” 1899-1900. 
largest being six and one half inches. We again brought up manganese 
nodules at the equator in about longitude 138° W., and subsequently — 
until within sight of 'Tahiti—we occasionally trawled manganese nodules. 
As had been noticed by Sir John Murray in the “Challenger,” these 
manganese nodules occur in a part of the Pacific most distant from con- 
tinental areas. Our experience has been similar to that of the “Chal- 
lenger,” only I am inclined to think that these nodules range over a far 
more extensive area of the Central Pacific than had been supposed, and 
that this peculiar manganese-nodule bottom characterizes a great portion of 
the deep parts of the Central Pacific, where it cannot be affected by the 
deposition of Globigerinz, Pteropods, or telluric ooze, in the region charac- 
terized also by red-clay deposits. For in the track of the great equatorial 
currents there occur deposits of Globigerina ooze in over 2400 fathoms 
for a distance of over 300 miles in latitude. 
We also found manganese nodules south of the Marquesas; at Station 31, 
when in 2700 fathoms, we obtained perhaps the finest specimens of red clay 
from any of our soundings. As we approached the western Paumotus, 
upon the north side of the plateau from which they rise, Globigerina ooze 
passed gradually to Pteropod ooze, then to fine and coarse coral-sand. In 
the channel south of the Paumotus to Tahiti the coral sand passed to vol- 
canic sand mixed with Globigerine in the deepest parts of the line, and 
toward Tahiti passed to voleanic mud mixed with Globigerinz, next to fine 
voleanic sand, and finally, at the last sounding, off Point Venus, to coarse 
volcanic sand. 
We made a few hauls of the trawl on our way, but owing to the great 
distance we had to steam between San Francisco and the Marquesas 
(3800 miles) we could not, of course, devote much time either to trawling 
or to making tows at intermediate depths. Still, the hauls we made with 
the trawl were most interesting, and confirmed what other deep-sea expe- 
ditions have recognized: that at great depths, at considerable distances 
from land and away from any great oceanic current, there is comparatively 
little animal life to be found. Where manganese nodules were found in 
abundance the hauls were specially poor, a few deep-sea Holothurians and 
Ophiurans, and some small Actiniw which had attached themselves to the 
