from the Falkland Islands to Monte Video. 625 



the shallow-water plateau, and on the 28th we sounded and trawled in 

 1900 fathoms over the ledge. A serial temperature-sounding gave a 

 bottom-temperature of 0°-0 C, l°-0 at 1725 fathoms, 3°-0 at 600 

 fathoms, and 20° at 50 fathoms (Curve 323, Plate 29). The trawl was not 

 very successful, but it brought up a few things of some interest ; among 

 them an example of a small sea-urchin, of which we had previously taken 

 single specimens at widely distant stations, off the coast of Nova Scotia, 

 near Gomera Island, near New Zealand, and near Japan. The bottom 

 was chiefly river-mud with very little carbonate of lime. 



On the following day we sounded in 2800 fathoms, and again lowered 

 the trawl. The bottom was a greyish mud, with little or no carbonate of 

 lime, and the bottom-temperature was — 0°*4 C. The trawl-line parted 

 near the ship in heaving in. 



On the 1st of March we proceeded on our course, and on the 2nd we 

 sounded in 2650 fathoms, with a bottom of grey mud and a bottom-tem- 

 perature of 0°*4 C. The trawl was put over, and a series of temperature 

 observations was taken to 1500 fathoms. (Curve No. 325, Plate 29.) 

 This sounding is very instructive ; the isothermobath of 3° C. is found at 

 600 fathoms, so that we have a mass of water at a lower temperature 

 2000 fathoms in thickness ; 2°'5 C. occurs at 1900 fathoms, and zero at 

 2400. The very marked hump of the curve extending from a depth of 125 

 fathoms to a depth of 255, and corresponding with the wide spaces between 

 the isothermobaths of 15° C. and 6° C. on Plate 28, evidently indicates the 

 position and volume of the Brazil current, the southern deflection of the 

 equatorial current after its bifurcation at Cape St.Boque. The trawl came 

 up containing an unusually large number of organisms for this depth, 

 including two specimens of an undescribed species of Ewplectella, some 

 corals, several Echinoderms illustrating three of the orders, some beautiful 

 examples of a species of Btylifer commensal on one of the Holothurians, 

 and several fishes. 



Next day we sounded in 2775 fathoms, and took temperature-sound- 

 ings. This series (Curve 326, Plate 29) presented a marked difference 

 from that of the previous day. All the lines from that of 1°*5 C. had 

 risen most palpably, most of them between 100 and 200 fathoms. 

 Even the surface participated in the fall of temperature, haviug sunk 

 from 21°'6 C. to 19°*9. This is evidently a space in the Brazil current 

 occupied by colder water, like the peculiar cold interdigitations which are 

 so marked in the Gulf-stream. The position of this sounding was lat. 

 37° 3' S., long. 44° 17' W. A serial temperature-sounding on the follow- 

 ing day, at a distance of 80 miles to the eastward, where the depth 

 was 2900 fathoms and the bottom-temperature — o, 3 C, showed by the 

 sinking of all the isothermobaths that we had again entered the normal 

 flow of the Brazil current. 



On the 6th of March it was blowing hard from the S.W. with a heavy sea. 

 "We sounded in 2900 fathoms, with a bottom of grey mud and a bottomV 



2t2 



