836 
were very satisfactory. The collection of 
surface animals is quite extensive, and 
many interesting forms were obtained. As 
regards the deeper hauls, they only confirm 
what has been my experience on former ex- 
peditions: that ‘eyond 300 to 350 fathoms 
very little animal life is found, and in the 
belt above 300 fathoms, the greater num- 
ber of many so-called deep-sea crustaceans 
and deep-sea fishes were obtained. I may 
mention that we obtained Pelagothuria at 
about 100 fathoms from the surface. 
We trawled at station No. 10 in 3088 
fathoms. Unfortunately the trawl was not 
successful, and we simply hauled the bag 
through over 3000 fathoms without bring- 
ing up a single deep-sea animal from inter- 
mediate depths which we did not obtain 
quite near the surface—at less than 300 
fathoms. JI may mention here that the ex- 
perience of the Valdivia shows, from the 
preliminary reports published by Professor 
Chun, that no pelagic alge extend to be- 
yond about 150 fathoms. Although healso 
states that animal life is foundat all depths 
from the surface to the bottom, yet he 
states that beyond 800 meters it diminishes 
very rapidly. Professor Chun does not state 
whether this diminution is more rapid away 
from land than near continental areas, 
both of which conditions I had called espe- 
cial attention to in my preliminary report 
on the Albatross expedition of 1891, while 
using the Tanner net in the Gulf of Cal- 
fornia. Mr. George Murray has criticised 
the action of the Tanner deep-sea net and 
condemns its results, suggesting that the 
bottom net had always closed some time 
after being sent down. I need not now 
discuss that subject, but will only refer him 
to the report of the Albatross, in which he 
will find the closed part of the net to have 
on several occasions brought up (when I 
expected it to do so) specimens from over 600 
fathoms from immediately above the bot- 
tom, or samples of the bottom from near 
SCIENCE. 
[N. S. Vou. X. No. 258 
1700 fathoms while attempting to tow im- 
mediately above that depth. I ought, in 
justice to him, to state that I omitted to 
mention that we secured the loops by twine 
to the detacher, to insure their dropping 
only when the messenger reached the 
detacher, and that the hooks of the de- 
tacher were lengthened very considerably 
above the dimensions figured in my prelim- 
inary report on the Albatross in 1891. I 
might add that we made a number of trials 
near the surface to see the action of the 
Tanner net under all conditions of position 
and speed, and I can only assume that Mr. 
Murray, having no experience, did not 
handle his net properly, or that it was not 
properly balanced. I may also add that 
Captain Tanner used his modified net sub- 
sequently in the Albatross, while running 
a line of soundings from San Francisco to 
Hawaiian Islands, in from 100 to 350 fath- 
oms from the surface, at considerable dis- 
tances from the islands and the mainland, 
and also in Alaskan waters, and always 
with the results we had obtained before. 
The closed bag, when towing at 100 fathoms 
below the surface, always brought up a mass 
of pelagic animals living at about that 
depth, while when tried at 300-350 fathoms, 
it brought up little or nothing. There is 
nothing in Captain Tanner’s experience, or 
mine, to indicate why the net should act 
well at 100 fathoms and not well at 300 
fathoms or more, as suggested by Mr. 
Murray. 
On our way to Tahiti from the Marquesas 
we stopped a few days to examine the 
westernmost atolls of the Paumotus. Strik- 
ing Ahii we made for Rairoa, the largest of 
the Paumotu group, skirting the northern 
shore from a point a little west of Tiputa 
Pass ; we entered the lagoon through Ava- 
toru Pass, anchoring off the village. This 
pass is quite narrow, with a strong current 
running out the greater part of the time, 
especially in easterly winds. It varies in 
