THE DEPTH AND MARINE DEPOSITS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 9 
upon such masses of decomposed vegetable matter as we found on this ex- 
pedition. There was hardly a haul taken which did not supply a large 
quantity of water-logged wood, and more or less fresh twigs, leaves, seeds 
and fruits, in all possible stages of decomposition.” 
Second Expedition.—In 1897 Dr. Agassiz explored. the coral reefs of 
the Fiji Islands, and published an interesting account’ of his results, but 
no bottom deposits were collected. 
Third Expedition.—In 1899 and 1900 Dr. Agassiz made an extended 
cruise in the tropical Pacific, proceeding from San Francisco to the 
Marquesas, Paumotu, Society, Cook, Friendly, and Fiji groups of islands, 
thence through the Ellice, Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline, and Ladrone groups 
of islands to Japan. The following notes on the bottom-deposits are 
extracted from Dr. Agassiz’s preliminary report” on the scientific results 
of the expedition : — 
“At Station 2, 2368 fathoms, lat. 28° 23’ N., long. 126° 57’ W., the 
trawl came up with the bag full of red clay and of manganese nodules, sili- 
ceous sponge spicules, a large pink Benthcecetes, spines of Phormosoma, 
Euphronides, and Benthodytes in fragments. Together with the manganese 
nodules came up many sharks’ teeth, whale ear-bones and other fragments 
of cetaceans more or less coated with manganese. There were a number of 
species of sharks represented : Carcharodon, Lamna, Oxyrhina, Carcharias. 
There were also a number of flat slabs coated with manganese, the majority 
from three to four inches thick, but many were nearly six inches through. 
We must have brought up at least 800 pounds’ weight of nodules. The 
slabs seemed to be composed of volcanic ash. There were many rounded 
masses of pumice covered by manganese and fragments of the stem of a 
Gorgonian (Isis) coated with manganese. 
‘At this station we obtained 116 sharks’ teeth, a few ear-bones and other 
bones of whales and dolphins. 
“Norn, —Sir John Murray informs me that at Station 2 some of the material which 
seemed to be manganese nodules proved to be rocks, evidently of continental origin, covered 
with a thin coating of manganese. 
“Mr. J. J. H. Teall, of the Geological Survey of England, who examined these rocks, 
reports that they are a fragment of a rounded pebble, consisting of a typical hornblende 
andesite; a subangular fragment of a pale-green serpentine; an angular fragment of a 
fine-grained sandstone composed of grains of quartz, felspar, and epidote, minute grains of 
1 Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoil., Vol. XXXIII., 1899. 
2 Mem. Mus. Comp. Zodl., Vol. XXVI., 1902, pp. 70-81. 
