402 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 
peng and successfully with the common trawl down to 600 fath- 
oms. lam now writing about 100 miles north of Madeira, _ 
since leaving Gibraltar the weather, though at — beat 
been on the whole fine. We have taken several successful na beers 
tive sounds at great depths, and we have thaploas Pabocatelilg at 
2,125 fathoms, “and recovered many iateresting animal forms, 
i 
beauty. Still we must regard our work up to the present time as 
only tentative. The weather has been against us. It is altogether 
a new experiment to dredge from so large a ship, and it seems to 
present some special difficulties, or at all events to require some 
re 
ion of improvement, and I have little doubt that under Captain 
Nares’ skillful management what little difficulty is still felt will 
shortly disappear. 
The lenger is a spare-decked corvette of 2,000 tons displace- 
ment. This teen build gives her an immense advantage for 
her present purposes, as she has all the accommodation of a frigate, 
with the handiness oa draught of water of a corvette. Sixteen ot 
the eighteen 68-pounders which form the armament of the Chal- 
lenger “have been rem moved, and the main-deck is almost entirely 
set aside a the scientific wo ork. Oleic after-cabin is divided into 
sxttave abit open, the captain and I use as ‘a sittin 
port-end with its writing table and work table, and its book canes 
dious zodlogical work-room is occupied by the naturalist "of the 
nares staff, while the chart room corresponds with it on the oppo 
afer the middle of the main deck, on the port side, 
ens isa dak op m and a working room for the photographer, 
- on the ao, side Mr. Buchanan has his chemical and 
ib Lae labora’ 
the shake e of the fore-part of the main deck is occupied 
“wae and sounding gear, Mr. Seimens’s photometric port 
