REMARKS ON THE BOTTOM DEPOSITS (Prats 1a). 
By Srr JOHN MURRAY, K.C.B. 
Our knowledge of the deposits covering the floor of the tropical Pacific 
has been much increased by an examination of the soundings taken by the 
U.SS. “ Albatross” in 1899 and 1900, under the direction of Mr. Alexander 
Agassiz. It is true that no new type of deep-sea deposit has been dis- 
covered, but the distribution of the deposits has been considerably modified. 
The principal result, perhaps, is the enormous extension, towards the east, 
of the Radiolarian Ooze area discovered by the “Challenger” between 5° 
and 15° N. lat. and 145° and 155° W. long. Our examination of the samples 
recently collected, and of those collected in 1891, by the “ Albatross,” 
seems to show. that this Radiolarian Ooze area extends uninterruptedly 
through about 85° of long. into the Gulf of Panama (where it occurs in 
comparatively shallow water), forming a band varying in width from 5° to 
12° of lat. Another result is the eastern extension also of the Globigerina 
Ooze area at the equator, and the introduction of Pteropod Ooze around 
the coral islands of the Paumotu and Marquesas groups. The numerous 
soundings taken by the “ Albatross” among the coral island-groups show 
that in many cases deep water, where the bottom is covered by Red Clay, 
approaches very close to the islands, but a curious circumstance regarding 
the samples collected in “the vicinity of the coral islands is the large pro- 
portion of very small samples, from which all fine clayey and calcareous 
material has apparently been washed away during process of collection, so 
that it is often impossible to say, from the insufficient quantity of incoherent 
material at our disposal, what the precise condition of the deposit i situ 
may be. The “ Albatross,” like the “Challenger,” crossed the typical Red 
or Chocolate Clay area, the trawl having, at Station 173 in lat. 18° 55° S., 
long. 146° 32’ W., 2440 fathoms, brought up a large supply of stiff choco- 
