1878.] Deep- Sea Dredging. 85 



The Council regretted that they were unable to send a member o£ 

 their body to represent the Society, but had expressed their thanks and 

 congratulations. 



The Peesident read the following extract from a letter which he had 

 received from Lieutenant F. W. Jarrad, e. n., regarding future deep-sea 

 dredging operations : 



" Have you heard officially of the successful issue of the Asiatic Socie- 

 ty's application to Grovernment regarding deep-sea sounding &c. ? 



" While I was in England, I drew up a Memorandum on the subject, 

 and after consulting with several of the staff of the * Challenger,' sent to 

 the India Office a complete list of the sounding and dredging gear required, 

 and also pointed out those which could be obtained from the Admiralty. 

 The Hydrographer of the Admiralty had informed me that he would be 

 able to let us have single specimens of most of the special appliances used, 

 so that the Society's suggestion that these should be obtained to be used as 

 patterns from which others might be made in India, has been carried out. 



" Sir Wyville Thomson also kindly showed me all the ' Challenger' 

 collection and explained his mode of treating them, as also the best condi- 

 tions under which good results were to be obtained, and gave me a mass 

 of information on the subject which will be most useful when we start 

 work. He also drew up a memorandum pointing out the sections which in 

 his opinion would be most usefully carried from several points in the 

 Indian Ocean, and the value of such an examination, in detail, as we 

 should be able to carry out. Besides this he has drawn up some instruc- 

 tions for the use of the Naturalist, and has given us the benefit of all the 

 experience he gained daring the ' Challenger's' cruise. 



" Our vessel is now ordered to be built in Bombay, and I think there 

 will be no further delay. I have just received orders to go to Bombay 

 whenever I think it necessary, to suj)ervise her construction, and I should 

 think we are certain to have her ready for sea by March or April 1879. 



" Before that date, will you call a meeting at the Society's Booms, of the 

 Natural History Committee, to consider the subject and draw up some definite 

 plan both as regards the work to be done, the order in which it should be 

 done and the method of dealing with the specimens, (that is by whom should 

 they be worked up). I think this is necessary, or perhaps there will be some 

 misunderstanding afterwards. Of course the specimens should be deposited 

 in the Museum at Calcutta, after they have been described. Preliminary 

 papers might be written after every working season, giving a general de- 

 scription of what had been done, for I presume it would take a considerable 

 time to work up thoroughly each season's specimens. 



