No. 12. — Reports on the Results of Dredging, under the Supervision 
of ALEXANDER AGASSIZ, in the Gulf of Mexico, by the United 
States Coast Survey Steamer “ Blake,” LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER 
C. D. SIGSBEE, U. S. N., Commanding. 
(Published by permission of CARLILE P. PATTERSON, Supt. U. S. Coast Survey.) 
IV. 
Preliminary Report on the Worms, by PRorzsson ERNST EHLERS of 
Gottingen. 
The collection of worms obtained by the Expedition on board the 
U. S. Coast Survey Steamer “Blake,” in the Gulf of Mexico, during the 
months of January, February, and March, 1878, is very rich in material. 
A cursory examination of this collection confirms in general the relations 
which similar materials from the Hassler Expedition had already shown 
me; but the “Blake” Expedition has in a number of instances furnished 
a most desirable supplement to the results of the earlier expedition ; 
worms unfamiliar to me, which in the latter were represented only by 
useless fragments, being here found in well-preserved specimens, and 
worm cases, which I had only seen empty, here occupied by their 
builders. I hope soon to present my complete report on both these 
collections, the publication of which has been delayed partly by the 
pressure of other engagements, partly by the time-consuming work of 
investigating and illustrating animals for the greater part undescribed. 
I give here only a mere summary of what I have received from the 
“Blake” Expedition. The collection was sent in seventy-eight bottles, 
the contents arranged by locality, being for the greater part so distributed 
that neither too many specimens nor too dissimilar species were placed to- 
gether. This was important to their preservation, which was in general 
very good. With the contents of every bottle was a label recording the 
locality from which they came. On a few of the littoral species the 
name only of the place was given; but the greater part were marked 
with the number of the station, its latitude and longitude, and the 
depth in fathoms; a third lot was labelled in addition “ Sigsbee,” indi- 
