II. Mecbanical constitution of tbe samples. 



Ihirty-eight samples have served as material for examina- 

 liun, and these were almost all obtained at long intervals along 

 the East coast of Greenland, from about lat. 74V2° to about lat. 

 70'. The distance from the shore varied somewhat as will be 

 seen from the subjoined chart; as a rule it did not exceed a 

 few kilometers. 



In the following table XI will be given a general account 

 of the situation of the deposits, the depth of the sea and the 

 colour and general properties of the clay. Beside the localities 

 of the above mentioned 38 samples, some have been mentioned 

 in the table from which no samples have been taken, but where 

 the nature of the sea-bottom is mentioned. 



All the samples must, according to their nature, be classed 

 with the grey deep-sea clay, though it might perhaps be 

 correct to class some of them among shallow-water depo- 

 sits. The limit between these two varieties is not determined 

 by their pelrographical nature, but is drawn as a rule at the 

 depth of a hundred Danish fathoms (c. 200 meter). This is also 

 approximately the depth at which the deposits begin to assume 

 a more purely clayey consistency, while those formed in more 

 shallow water often consist wholly or partly of gravel or sand. 

 If, however, we lake a single area, such as the above men- 



