ON THE BED OF THE OCEAN. 379 



Since then the International Statistical Congress having heen held at Berlin, 

 their proceedings regarding international units, had due influence on the 

 Prussian Government, and it is expected that the opposition of that Govern- 

 ment may have thereby been overcome. Another meeting of the same 

 Congress of delegates from German States has just been held at Frankfort, 

 with the presence of Prussian delegates, and we trust to hear speedily of 

 the unanimous resolution in favour of the adoption of the metric system. 



Though the instructions of this Committee are confined to weights and 

 measures, and do not include coins, the Committee are convinced that the 

 advantage of the metric and decimal system will not be fully realized until 

 the coins also and mode of accountancy are decimalized. 



In conclusion, the Committee would recommend the reappointment of this 

 Committee with power to use such measures as it may deem expedient for 

 promoting the extensive use of the metric system in scientific and official 

 documents, in the Custom House and Post Office, as well as the teaching of 

 the system in schools and colleges ; with instructions also, as regards the 

 coinage, to represent to Her Majesty's Government the expediency of the 

 early adoption of such a system of decimalization as will the more effec- 

 tively facilitate the social and commercial transactions of the country, and at 

 the same time advance the great purpose of international exchanges, and 

 especially to urge upon Her Majesty's Government the great benefit that 

 would arise from the early assembling of an international monetary conven- 

 tion, as recommended at the last meeting of the International Statistical 

 Congress, held at Berlin. 



On the Bed of the Ocean. By A. G. Findlay, F.R.G.S. 



The progress which has been made of late years in deep-sea sounding, 

 chiefly in connexion with the selection of a route for the Atlantic 

 Telegraph Cable, and the curious results it has developed, led to the 

 desire, at the Bath Meeting, that a wider and more systematic survey 

 of the ocean bed should be carried on, and for this purpose the General 

 Committee appointed Sir H. Murchison, Rear-Admiral Collinson, and 

 Mr. A. G. Pindlay, to endeavour to promote this object. 



Up to the present time we know less of ocean physics than of almost 

 any branch of science. The volume, depth, circulation, temperature, 

 &c. of the waters of our globe are only vaguely to be surmised from 

 isolated and imperfect experiments ; yet it has • an influence on phy- 

 sical geography second only to that of the atmosphere. 



The fact of animal life existing at the greatest depths, and of exactly 

 the same nature, under every variety of surface climate, has only lately 

 been satisfactoinly determined. 



The wide range of speculation which the late accessions to our know- 

 ledge as to the perpetual interchange and circulation of the Avhole of the 

 ocean water, from the surface to the bed, from the equator to the poles, 

 by which it would seem that the universal identity of its nature and 

 composition could be maintained, the wide area over whicli species of 

 animal life arc found, the formation and composition of the sedimentary 

 and oolitic rocks now in progress, are of apparently the same character 

 as our older geologic strata. 



The state of our knowledge of the - whole is detailed by Dr. "Wallich 



