NARRATIVE OF THE SECOND AND THIRD EXPEDITIONS. 57 



luivrser laid about 90 yards astern. During the boring she did not surge more thari 

 about 1 foot.'" Mr. Halltgax and party and the boring plant were conveyed in 

 H.M.S. " Porpoise " from Funafuti to Aj^ia, whence they returned in R.M.S. " Aorangi " 

 to Sydney. 



The whole of the material obtained from Mr. Halligan's bores in the lagoon at 

 Funafuti (which respectively reached a depth of 245 feet below sea-level and 144 feet 

 below the floor of the lagoon, and 214 feet below sea-level and 113 feet below the 

 floor of the lagoon) was forwarded to Professor Judd at the Royal College of 

 Science, London, as was the remainder of the Funafuti core together with 

 Mr. Fjxckh's zoological collections and the dredgings obtained by Mr. Halligan 

 and himself from outside the Funafuti Atoll, t 



On his return journey to Sydney in the "John Williams," Mr. Finckh visited 

 some of the Gilbert Islands and found them to be wholly composed, at the surface 

 at all events, of Litliothamnion. He arrived in Sydney with the diamond-drill 

 party on January 18th, 1899, bringing with him the portion of the core from 

 987 feet to 1114 feet. During the time that Mr. Finckh had been in charge, 

 the Expedition had carried the main diamond-drill bore from a depth of 

 698 feet to the total depth attained (1114 feet). This included the work of 

 cleaning out and re-lining the old bore-hole. The performance, therefore, in view 

 of the difficulty of boring the cavernous coral-rock, may be considered very creditable 

 to the Diamond-drill Branch of the New South Wales Govei-nment Department of 

 Mines. 



For the last 387 feet of the boring it was found that the rock forming the sides 

 of the bore-hole was sufficiently strong and free from silt to render unnecessary the 

 further lining of the bore with iron pipes. The 4-inch lining pipes were not carried 

 below the level of 727 feet. This fact is very encouraging in relation to the possi- 

 bility of deepening this bore at some future occasion. The whole of the 4-inch 

 lining pipes were pulled up at the completion of the boring, but the 5 -inch pipes 

 still line the upper 118 feet of the bore, commencing at about 10 feet below the 

 surface. 



After the return of the last Funafuti Expeditions we proceeded with the prepara- 

 tion of our geological maps and sections of the islets, while Mr. Finckh prepared his 

 report on his biological observations, and Mr. Halligan his report on the lagoon 

 borings and fixing of permanent marks on the reef platform. Messrs. Halligan 

 and Finckh collaborated with me in preparing a report on the dredging. The chief 

 part of the geological work done by us at the atoll was accomplished by my 

 colleague, Mr. G. Sweet, to whom I gladly express my deep obligation 



* The success of tliis l^oriiig by meiuis of the hydraulic drill suggests the possibility of boring by some 

 similar method the bed of the ocean even at a considerable depth. Special mention shoidd be made of the 

 services rendered to Mr. IlALLiGiiN by Mr. Albert E. Tomkins, Chief Engineer of H.M.S. "Porpoise." 



t See for the results, Section VII. 



I 



