GENEEAL INTRODUCTION TO THE ZOOLOGICAL REPORTS. 29 



muuicate in future with that Department. I may add that since that time the grant 

 for the publication of the Challenger results has been administered directly through 

 the Treasury and the Stationery Office ; no practical difficulty whatever has arisen from 

 this transfer, as the Treasury accepted without material change the scheme which was 

 already in operation. 



Shortly after our return I communicated with naturalists at home and abroad 

 who had given special attention to the different sections of the marine Fauna, and 

 requested their assistance in describing and figuring the newly-discovered species, and in 

 discussing their zoological and palseontological relations, their geographical distribution 

 and any other points of interest in connection with them. In the meantime my friend 

 and fellow- worker Professor Alexander Agassiz joined me in going over the whole 

 collection, and, with the assistance of Mr Murray, we completed the zoological arrange- 

 ment, which had been roughly attempted on board, and prepared each series so that it 

 might be readily sent to the specialist to whom it was to be intrusted. This preliminary 

 work occupied several months, but towards the close of the first year after the return of the 

 ship, most of the naturalists who had undertaken the description of the more important 

 groups, including, with others, Professor Haeckel, Dr Carpenter, Mr H. B. Brady, Professor 

 AUman, Mr Busk, Dr G. Brady, Mr Davidson, Mr Spence Bate, Professor Huxley, and 

 Mr P. L. Sclater, had gone over the collection in our rooms in Teviot Eow, and had got 

 a general idea of its extent and scope. 



When the collections of specimens of the difi'erent classes into which we had found it 

 convenient to break up the zoological collection was ready for distribution, I printed for 

 the use of the naturalists engaged, a track chart of the voyage ; and a list of the observing 

 Stations, giving — 



1. The number by which each particular station is referred to throughout. 



2. The date. 



3. The exact position of the ship at noon of the day on which the observations were 



made. 



4. The depth in fathoms ( = 6 English feet). 



5. The bottom temperatures. 



6. An abbreviation as it is given in the charts, indicating the nature of the 



bottom. 



This list was prefaced by a short statement of the plan of working which it was 

 proposed to adopt; and as these arrangements have as a rule answered their purpose well, 

 I give the preamble almost in full, in the hope of its being found useful for reference on 

 some future occasion. The list of stations, with all necessary details, is given in 

 the Appendix to this introduction. 



