THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 29 



and I was much delighted with its beauty, although it is not 

 the sort of pyrotechnic display often represented by travel- 

 lers. During the last few days we had been shaping our 

 course with the endeavour of picking up the Jaseur Bank 

 discovered by the Trench man-of-war "Jaseur " in 1825, but 

 apparently not examined since then. This bank is situated 

 in lat. 20-36-30 S., and long. 35-47 W., and is about 60 miles 

 distant from the Victoria Bank, and about 360 from the 

 island of Trinidad. At half- past one p.m. (Oct. 31), as it 

 was believed that we were drawing near the bank, sound- 

 ings were taken, but no bottom was obtained with 1000 

 fathoms line. Soon after five P.M. we again sounded, and 

 this time the lead touched bottom at forty fathoms, and one 

 or two fragments of a Millepora, with a few Foraminifera, 

 were found attached to the arming. A few minutes later we 

 again reached the bottom with thirty fathoms line, more 

 Foraminifera being found on the lead. Proceeding onwards 

 for a short distance, the process was repeated with a Fitz- 

 gerald's apparatus, and a good sample of the bottom, at a 

 depth of 52 fathoms, procured. By 6*30 p.m. we were in a 

 depth of 800 fathoms, and consequently the conclusion was 

 arrived at that the Jaseur is a narrow elevated ridge, pro- 

 bably extending transversely between the Victoria Bank and 

 Trinidad. I subsequently made a careful microscopic 

 examination of the deposit brought up in the Fitzgerald's ap- 

 paratus, and found that it was principally composed of animal 

 organisms, and that almost no specimens of rock or minerals 

 were present. The animal, which greatly predominated 

 over the vegetable forms (only represented by a few 

 fragments of an incrusting Melohesia, and a minute portion 

 of the frond of a living Ulva or Enter omorpha), were all 

 dead ; and the bulk of them consisted of multitudes of the 



