AGASSIZ: FIJI ISLANDS AND CORAL REEFS. 15 
devote the time necessary for such a comparison. So nothing was done 
to test the comparative efficiency of the various deep-sea self-closing 
towing nets. When practicable we collected on the reef flats of various 
islands and atolls. 
A number of hauls were made with the deep-sea Tanner net at 
several points in Fiji, such as the Strait of Somo Somo, off the Matangi 
Passage, off the west face of Nukusemanu Reef, off Blackswan Point, off 
the north point of Vatu Leile, across the eastern opening of Mbengha 
Passage, and off Suva Harbor. The depth at which we towed varied 
between one hundred and seventy-five fathoms and thirty fathoms to 
the surface. At the localities where each deep haul was made, a surface 
haul was also made. We were rather disappointed in the character of 
our catch. There were no great novelties ; the number of Medusz was 
usually quite small, but we obtained a large number of Crustacea. 
The contents of the nets varied but little at the different localities. 
We obtained young Fishes, Fish eggs and Salpz, Doliolium, Alcyopide, 
Copepods, Squillee, embryos of Macrurans and Brachiurans, Sapphirina, 
Sergestes, Euphausia, several species of pelagic Macrurans, and Rhegma- 
todes, Halopsis, Agalma, the bell of a large Siphonophore unknown to 
me, Tamoya, many Diphyes, Ectoplenra, Oceania, Berenice, Liriope, 
Polygordius, Tomopteris, Octopus, Mollusk embtyos, Hyalea, Atlanta, 
Styliola, Tiedemannia, and other Pteropods. In fact, the pelagic fauna 
seemed singularly like that of the Straits of Florida, but far less 
abundant. 
Mr. Mayer made also a number of surface hauls, and collected many 
species of Acalephs which had escaped the large tow-net, two species 
of a Rhizostome, a Eucharis, an Aurelia, and an Idya. The Sagitte 
we collected were unusually large ; Collozoon was quite abundant, and 
occasionally we collected Globigerine of a reddish tint, and other 
Foraminifera. 
During our cruise we constantly passed long windrows of Algze torn 
from the reefs, extended patches of a yellow Trichodesmium, and masses 
of leaves and flowers, and branches of all kinds of trees, floating at the 
mercy of the winds and currents. 
It is interesting to note that the surface hauls made during our 
trip have developed the fact that the majority of the genera of Acalephs 
collected in Fiji belong to the same genera as those found on the east 
side of the Isthmus of Panama. The great geographical range in the 
Pacific of many of the genera of Echinoderms and of Crustacea as well 
as of Fishes found in the West Indies has already been noted. The col- 
