240 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 
Bottom temperatures south of Marthas Vineyard, August 22, 1882. 
Fathoms Temperatures Fathoms Temperatures 
65-70 49° 145-155 46° 
89 48°-49° 171 43° 
100 47 22ARe 245 43° 
116 48° 300 40° & 
124 4g? 
And the fact that the temperatures of 1882 were taken when the water — 
was at its warmest (a month later than those of 1881) suggests that 
the discrepancy for the two years would have been even greater had — 
both sets of readings been taken at the same season. - The only one 
of our stations directly comparable with the above is Station 10112, 
over the sixty fathom curve south of Marthas Vineyard, August 22, 
where the temperature was 58.9° at sixty fathoms, 7. e., nearly 10° — 
warmer than in 1882. The deep waters of the Gulf of Maine were 
likewise unusually cold in 1882 (p. 244), and the remarkable mortality _ 
of fish which took place in the spring of that year has usually been 
accounted for by the abnormally low temperature (p. 266). 
The only records available for the next year (1883) are a few scat- 
tered observations by the ALBATROSS (Townsend, 1901), unfortunately — 
all outside the 100 fathom curve. They show that the temperature 
south of Marthas Vineyard was 48° at 131 fathoms in May, and 49° 
at 117 fathoms in September. In September, 1884, the ALBATROSS 
took a series of bottom temperatures south of Nantucket, extending 
from the eighteen fathom curve out to the continental slope, with the 
following results: 
Bottom temperatures, south of Nantucket, September 26-28, 1884. 
Fathoms Temperature Fathoms Temperature - 
18 55 .9° 58 52.9° 
25 54 .4° 78 51.9° 
38 50°3° 98 50.9° 
43 50 .2° 122 48 .8° 
46 51.4° 
This series was taken a month later in the season than our 1913 sta- 
tions, which perhaps explains the high temperatures on the inner part 
of the shelf in 1884. And the fact that our one Station (10112) at the 
end of August was considerably warmer than the 1884 records shows 
how difficult it is to compare scattered records, owing to fluctuating 
