TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 169 



of mud, but with little sign of animal life. The thermometers were both broken by 

 the enormous pressure, the pressure at that d»pth being equal to about 704 atmo- 

 spheres, or 10,600 lbs. to the square ineh. (The thermometers so broken were 

 exhibited at the Section.) 



From this deep sounding the water shoaled 1000 fathoms at a distance of 110 

 miles, and then continued without any great alteration until close to Bermuda, at 

 which place the ' Challenger ' arrived on the 4th of April. 



The several deep soundings taken round Bermuda prove it to be a peak on which 

 the coral animals have built the islands ; and from the fact of there being con- 

 siderable magnetic disturbance at difierent stations on the island, it may be inferred 

 that, unlike the coral formations of the Pacific, there has been no subsidence of the 

 mountain. There are two or three other peaks similar to that of Bermuda — for 

 instance, the Sainthill and Milne banks, one with 100 fathoms, the other with 

 80 fathoms on it. These are well authenticated soundings ; and had the peaks 

 been a few fathoms nearer the sm-face, doubtless we should have had two islands 

 similar to Bermuda. 



The ' Challenger ' left Bermuda on the morning of the 21st April. Proceeding 

 to the north-west towards New York, the deepest water, 2800 fathoms, was found 

 about midway between Bermuda and the southern edge of the Gulf-stream. Soon 

 after noon on the 30th the southern edge was crossed, the temperature of the 

 surface-water changing suddenly from 65° to 72°. 



Great exertions were made to obtain a sounding in the strength of the Gulf-stream, 

 but the strength of the cun-ent prevented its accomplishment ; but conclusions were 

 drawn from the observations made, that at this section of the Gulf-stream it is 

 57 miles wide and 100 fathoms deep, that the rapid part of the current did not 

 exceed a breadth of 15 miles, and that the rate of the current is 3| to 4 miles an 

 hour, and that the temperature of this belt of rapid current exceeded by 3° the 

 other parts of the stream. 



On the return voyage from Halifax to Bermuda Captain Nares sounded close 

 to the position of the Hope Bank, on which there is said to be 49 fathoms, but 

 he found no indications of its existence. 



On the voyage across the ocean from Bermuda to the Azores there is not much 

 to comment on. The water suddenly deepened to 2360 fathoms at a distance of 

 60 miles from Bermuda ; and the deepest water on the section was 2875 fathoms, 

 being one third the distance from Bermuda, and then shoaled gradually towards 

 Fayal. 



The 'Challenger' reached Fayal on the 9th of July, and then went to St. Michael's, 

 from which place she went directly to Cape-Yerde Islands, and arrived at St. 

 Vincent on tne 27th of July. 



Oil Trade-routes ihrougTi Mongolia and Zimgaria. By Net Elias. 



Three Visits to New Guinea. By the Rev. W. Wyatt Gill, B.A. 



My first visit was in October 1872, when I landed on Tauan, a lofty island sepa- 

 rated from the mainland of New Guinea by a strait 4 miles wide. Near to Tauan, 

 and formerly considered to be a part of it, is the low, fruitful, unhealthy island of 

 Saibai, 10 miles in length. The interior of Saibai is a vast morass, with myriads 

 of snipes, curlews, &c. The inhabitants are a fine Negrillo race, very suspicious of 

 strangers. On both this and the adjacent island the houses of chiefs and warriors 

 are ornamented with strings of skulls of New-Guinea Bushmen. In the principal 

 village of Saibai stands a lofty cocoa-palm, with two branches growing out of the 

 parent stem at the same point. 



A few days afterwards we steamed on to Katau, a village on the south-western 

 coast of New Guinea. The coast was covered with stately melancholy mangroves, 

 very unlike the scrub bearing the same name in Q,ueensland. A conical hiU some 

 miles inland alone relieved the monotony of the scene. The navigation of this 

 unsurveyed coast is most critical, owing to the presence of coral-reefs and sunken 



1873. 12 



