THE GREAT DEEPS 119 
hindering. There are many Bacteria in the 
surface-waters of the sea, where they help in 
the circulation of matter, but there do not 
seem to be any in the great depths. ‘That 
means that there is no rotting, for there is no 
rotting without Bacteria. If a dead whale 
sinks to the floor of the sea, with its flesh com- 
pacted together like pressed beef, it is nibbled 
to fragments by crustaceans and other scav- 
engers, and all of it is devoured or dissolved, 
save the cowrie-like ear-bones which are al- 
most as hard as stone. But the microscopic 
atomies in their never-ending shower count 
for much more than the carcases of whales. 
A REPRESENTATIVE FAUNA 
It is interesting to find that the assemblage 
of animals on the floor of the Deep Sea is not 
a picked one, but very representative. There 
are many simple microscopic creatures— 
Foraminifers and Radiolarians; many horny 
and flinty (but no calcareous) sponges; sea- 
anemones and corals; worms of many kinds 
in abundance; star-fishes, brittle-stars, sea- 
urchins, sea-cucumbers, and many sea-lilies; 
numerous crustaceans and quaint creatures 
