•622 report — 1878. 



whole of the marine invertebrate classes are more or less fully represented. The 

 abyssal fauna is of a somewhat special character, differing from the fauna of shallower 

 water in the relative proportions in which the different invertebrate types are 

 represented. It is very uniform over an enormously extended area, and in this 

 respect it fully confirms the anticipations of the great Scandinavian naturalist 

 Loven, communicated to this Association in the year 1844. It is a rich fauna, in- 

 cluding many special genera, and an enormous number of special species, of which 

 we, of course, know as yet only a fraction ; but I do not think I am going too far 

 iu saying that from the results of the Challenger expedition alone the number of 

 known species in certain classes will be doubled. The relations of the abyssal fauna 

 to the faunse of the older Tertiary and the newer Mesozoic periods are much closer 

 than are those of the faunas of shallow water ; I must admit, however, that these 

 relations are not so close as I expected them to be, — that hitherto we have found 

 living only a very few representatives of groups which had been supposed to be 

 extinct. I feel, however, that until the zoological results of several of these later 

 voyages, and especially those of the Challenger, shall have been fully worked out, it 

 would be premature to commit myself to any generalisations. 



I have thus attempted to give a brief outline of certain defensible general con- 

 clusions, based upon the results of recent research. Some years ago, certain 

 commercial enterprises, involving the laying of telegraph cables over the bed of the 

 sea, proved that the extreme depths of the ocean were not inaccessible. This some- 

 what unexpected experience soon resulted in many attempts, on the part of those 

 interested in the extension of the boundaries of knowledge, to use what machinery 

 they then possessed to determine the condition of the hitherto unknown region. 

 This first step was naturally followed by a development of all appliances and 

 methods bearing upon the special line of research ; and within the last decade the 

 advance of knowledge on all matters bearing upon the physical geography of the 

 sea has been confusingly rapid— so much so, that at this moment the accumulation 

 of new material has far outstripped the power of combining and digesting and 

 methodising it. This difficulty is greatly increased by the extreme complexity of 

 the questions, both physical and biological, which have arisen. Steady progress is, 

 ' however, being made in both directions, and I trust that in a few years our ideas 

 as to the condition of the depth of the sea may be as definite as they are with 

 regard to regions to which we have long had ready access. 



The following Papers were read : — 



1. A Journey on Foot through Arabia Petraa. By the Rev. F. W. Holland, 



M.A., F.B.O.S. 



The objects of this expedition were — 



1. To examine the sandstone district in the Peninsula of Sinai lying between 

 the ancient Egyptian mining stations of Wady Mugharah and Serabit el Kadim, 

 with the view of the possible discovery of further Egyptian ruins or in- 

 scriptions. 



2. To trace out the various routes that the children of Israel might have taken 

 on their journey northwards- from Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa) to Kadesh Barnea, so 

 as to institute a just comparison between the facilities or difficulties which at- 

 tended them. 



3. To explore Jebel Mugrah and Ain Kadeis, in the hopes of throwing some 

 additional light upon the disputed questions of the site of Kadesh Barnea and the 

 boundary of the ancient kingdom of Edom. 



4. To follow the road from Wady el Arish by the ancient Lake Serbonis to 

 Kantara, this having been suggested by Brugsch Bey as the route taken by the 

 children of Israel when they left Egypt. 



Starting from Suez on March 31st, attended only by three Arabs of the Jowarah 

 tribe, Mr. Holland made a walking tour to Jebel Musa, which he believed to be 



