April 8, 1SS0] 



NATURE 



547 



depressions, and especially in the deepest hollows on the 

 bottom of the sea, where the water is over 4,000 fathoms 

 deep ; but such is not the case as far as we know. The 

 deepest depressions lie in the North Pacific, the deepest 

 of all being one close to the Kurile Islands, the soundings 

 there being 4,655 fathoms. 



Mr. Alexander Agassiz has glanced over and helped to 

 sort the whole deep-sea collection made by the Challenger, 

 and he believes that the collection made by the successive 

 dredgings of the United States Government in deep water 

 off the eastern coast of the United States and the West 

 Indies contains almost all the types dredged by us all 

 over the world. No better proof of the ubiquity of deep- 

 sea species could be given. We got quite tired on the 

 Challenger of dredging up the same monotonous animals 

 wherever we went. 



Many animals which occur in deep water in temperateand 

 tropical regions occur in shallow water in high latitudes. 

 Hence it is usually concluded that an Arctic or Antarctic 

 fauna has colonised the deep sea ; but probably it is also 



Fig. %—Cryftaluliaf 



the case that deep-sea forms have moved up into shallow 

 water in polar regions, because there the temperature is 

 low and the water is dark during most of the year, both 

 from the absence of sun or the obliquity of its rays, and 

 because of the covering of the water by ice and snow. 

 Probably colonisation has taken place in both directions. 

 Some of the identical animal forms occurring at New 

 Zealand and Great Britain may have moved up from deep 

 water at both places. 



The higher we rise into shallow water above the limit 

 of the deep-sea fauna, the more restricted becomes the 

 geographical range of the species occurring. I may cite 

 an instance. Off the Aru Islands in the Malay Archi- 

 pelago we dredged in 1 29 fathoms at the same haul a 

 number of corals and other animals, nearly all of which 

 we did not find elsewhere, and which I believe Mr. 

 Agassiz has not found off the American coast. 

 (To be continued.) 



NOTES 



We are sure our readers of all shades of politics must regret 

 that Sir John Lubbock has lost his seat in Parliament. We have 

 nothing to do with the immediate causes of his defeat, but for 

 the sake of science and enlightened legislation we trust he may 

 find some other consti'uency liberal enough in the best sense of 

 the term, to choose hiui as its representative. Meantime his 

 loss is to some extent made up for by the election of Prof. 

 Maskelyne, though we trust the latter's duties as a legislator will 

 not lead to the neglect of what we consider his much higher 

 function of original research. 



We have some further details concerning the new agricultural 

 college about to be opened near Salisbury. Mr. John Wrightson, 

 for many years Professor at Cirencester, and well known for his 

 contributions to scientific agriculture, is converting his house and 

 extensive farm near Downton into an institution which shall 

 combine lands worked by himself with a teaching staff mainly 

 composed of experienced professors once at the Royal Agricul- 

 tural College. There is plenty of room, not for one new college 

 only, but for half a dozen ; and the present scheme commends 

 itself to us in many ways. We feel sure that it will work in 

 friendly rivalry with Cirencester, avoiding is mistakes while 

 profiting by its experience. We would suggest that some shorter 

 title than the "South Wiltshire and Hampshire Agricultura 

 College " should be found for the new institution. 



We understand that Prof. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., of Owens 

 College, Manchester, has accepted an invitation to give a course 

 of lectures at the Lowell Institute, Boston, Mass., in October 

 and November of this year. 



The eighteenth meeting of the delegates of the French Societes 

 Savantes took place at the Sorbonneon March 31. M. Regnier, 

 President of the Archeological Section, was the president at the 

 inaugural sitting. He was as-isted by M. Milne Edwards, President 

 of the Science Section, r.nd M. Delisle, President of the Historical 

 Section. In his speech the President spoke in some detail of the 

 heliographical reproduction of old manuscripts published recently 

 in England. The Section of Science was divided as usual into 

 three commissions. M. Allegret, Professor of the Faculty of 

 Lyons, was appointed President of the Commission for Mathe- 

 matics ; M. Fdhol, Professor to the Faculte des Sciences of 

 Toulouse, President of the Commission for Physico-Chemical 

 Science ; ' and M. Cotteau President of the Commision of 

 Natural Sciences. The General Sitting of Sciences were presided 

 over by M. Milne-Edwards, assisted by M. Faye and M. Wurtz. 

 The distribution of prizes took place on Saturday, April 3, under 

 the presidency of M. Ferry, the Minister of Public Instruction. 

 Prince Oscar of Sweden, Prof. Nordenskjuld, and Capt. Palauder 

 were present, and greatly cheered by undergraduates and 

 spectators. Except the allusion to the high rewards, the speech 

 of M. Ferry was almost entirely confined to educational topics 

 According to the proposals of the Commission of Sciences 

 gold medals have been awarded to Dr. Crevaux for his explora- 

 tions in Tropical America, M. Crova, Professor to the Faculte 

 des Sciences de Montpelier, and M. Violle, Professor to the Faculte 

 of Lyons, for their works in Phy-ics ; M. Pierre, as Director of 

 the Botanical Garden of Saigon (Cochin-China), and MM. 

 Chantre and Falsan for their studies of the old glaciers of the 

 Rhone. 



The Italian Minister of Agriculture and Commerce has 

 decided to present to Parliament a project for executing a great 

 geological map of the kingdom. The expense is calculated at 

 6,000,000 francs. 



Shocks of earthquake were felt at Tenez, on the Algerian 

 coast, on March 2, at S.30 p.m., and at Orleausville and Tj*ez 

 on the 25th, at 5.20 a.m. 



