56 PKOFESSOR T. W. EDGE WORTH DAVID. 



gear from the " Ovalau " at Apia pending the arrival of the L.M.S. steam yacht 

 " John Williams." The " John Williams," Captain E. C. Hore, left Apia on 

 June IGth and arrived at Funafuti on June 20th. Tlie no light task of landing 

 25 tons of oear, chieflv machinerv, and 40 tons of coal on the shore of the lae'oon 

 Avas successfully accomplished by Captain HoRE, and preparations were at once made 

 for erecting tlie drill and stowing the stores and coal, and there was little delay 

 before the boiing was commenced, though the natives were rather grasping and lazy. 



The old bore-hole was re-opened, and as was anticipated, little difficulty was 

 experienced in washing away the silt to nearly the total depth formerly attained. 

 But some trouble was experienced in the last 50 feet, and the bottom of the old 

 bore was not reached till July 25th. During the first ten days the average rate 

 of advance was slightly more than as many feet ; S03 feet being leached on 

 August 4th. The 4-inch lining tubes were carried to a total depth of 727 feet, after 

 Avhich the rock was sufficiently solid to make lining unnecessary. It was, liowever, so 

 cavernous as to have a very destructive effect on the diamonds (white Cape boarts), and 

 that made progress sIoaa' after a deptli of 803 feet. Efforts A\"ere made to compensate 

 for tliis by working (with tA\'o natives) two shifts at the drills. On September 7th, 

 a depth of 973 feet liad been reached, and the core was sent to Sydney by the 

 " Porpoise ' with Foreman Symons in charge, command at the drill being taken by 

 Foreman Burns. Tlie supply of diamonds was now running very low and notwith- 

 standing the greatest care it was exhausted on October 11th, when a depth of 1114 

 feet had been reached. Work then necessarily ceased and the forward lining tubes 

 except the uppermost 111 feet 5 inches were hauled U}), and a cairn built over the 

 bore-hole. The time intervening between the conclusion of the bore and the date of 

 departure of this Third Expedition from Funafuti was occu})ied by Mr. Finckh chiefly 

 in continuing bis exjjeriments on tlie rates of growth of various reef- forming 

 organisms, es})ecially the corals, the Lifhothamnion and the Ilaliineda. He also 

 joined witli Mr. Halligax in the work of obtaining samples of the submarine slope 

 of the reef on the ocean side, by means of heavy steel chisels and hemp tangles, and 

 in fixing permanent marks on the reef platform facing the ocean opposite the 

 main diamond-drill camp. (See Plate 19.) This work ;uid the results of tlie 

 biological investigations of Mr. Finokh, are given in detail in Sections VI and VII. 

 Mr. Halligan's boriuijof the bed of the Funafuti Lniyoon, which proved so successful, 

 is described in Section V^lll. 



It shovdd be mentioned that the Hon. B. G. CoRNEY once more l)efriended us 

 during this expedition. He took charge of all Mr. Halligan's boring apparatus, 

 arranged for its exeni])tion from customs duties, and stored it at Suva, pending the 

 arrival of H.M.S. " Porpoise." While the success of the technical part of the boring 

 was due to Mr. Halligan, the Iwring was only rendered possi])le by the skill with 

 which Captain F. C. D. Sturdee, Il.N., moored his shi]). This was done with six 

 shackles on each bower, and with the sheet anchor with a shackle and a 4-incli wire 



