10 NORMAN : ON THE MOLLUSCA OF BERGEN FIORDS, 



for our purpose, if furnished with suitable apparatus for hghten- 

 ing the labour of hauling in the dredge. In this we lie calmly 

 on the lake-like surface of a narrow Fiord, where we are never 

 more than about a mile from land, and let down the dredge to 

 find a fauna unknown at Shetland, and approximating to that of 

 deeper parts of the North Atlantic Ocean. It fairly astounds us 

 at first, after what we have been accustomed to during five and 

 twenty years' dredging in our own shallow seas, to drop the dredge 

 over the boat-side and see 400 fathoms of line run out before a 

 resting place is found at the bottom, and this so near to shore that 

 letting out as much line again it is actually possible to pull to 

 shore from this great depth, while the dredge lies still where it 

 was let go, to land and haul it in from the rocks, and if it does 

 not catch — which it probably will do as it mounts the 

 precipice — there to bring it in. It seems incredible until we 

 have proved it that in pulling over those few hundred yards of 

 smooth surface to the shore we have passed over a precipice of 

 more than 2000 feet, which lies hidden by the calm water w^hich 

 ripples against our bows. 



Oster Fiord is a deep inlet running far east among the 

 mountains, and is so narrow that the depth is nearly as great as 

 the width. The bottom is almost everywhere a fine grey mud, a 

 deposit which apparently owes its origin to the wearing effects of 

 snow and ice on the surrounding mountains of primitive rocks. 

 From this mud Globigerince and Orbulince are almost entirely 

 absent. Indeed I did not find a single Orbulvia, and only a 

 few Glohigeriiice, and those depauperated. The mud is charac- 

 terized by a very great development of Forminifera belonging to the 

 Bulimina series, Bulimina (pynda, marginata, mconstens Egger,* 

 Bradii n. sp. piipoides and ovata), Virgidina, Bolivina, Cassidii- 

 lina, FuUenia, Sphczroidina, and Chtlostomella ; together with these 

 are abundance of Uvigerince, Lagence, Glandulince, and arenaceous 



* Not before, I believe, known as a recent form. 



J.C, ii., Jan.,1879 



