Sir John Murray. 



xi 



score handfuls of oceanic ooze from the South Polar seas and scanty bits of 

 rocks from scattered lands. Whatever doubts remained as to the accuracy of 

 Murray's deductions have disappeared since the cumulative discoveries of 

 Amundsen, Borehgrevink, Bruce, Drygalski, Gerlaehe, Larsen, Nordenskiold, 

 Scott and Shackleton." 



Secondly, Sir John did much to throw light upon the origin of coral reefs. 

 At the time of the " Challenger " Expedition Darwin's theory of subsidence 

 held the field, but Murray, who proved all things and held fast only to that 

 which he conceived to be true, found occasion to doubt its universal applica- 

 tion. The boring at Funafuti, an island which was especially selected alike 

 by the opponents and adherents of Darwin and Murray respectively as a 

 typical place for investigation, clearly proved that Darwin was right in some 

 places : there is room enough in the world for some coral islands to have been 

 formed by sinking and others by the rising of the earth's crust. Darwin 

 himself always admitted, after the publication of Semper's memoir, that his 

 subsidence theory was not of universal application. 



At the time of Murray's return from the " Challenger " Expedition, Sir 

 Archibald G-eikie, O.M., was Professor of Geology at the University of 

 Edinburgh, and Murray then attended his lectures. Sir Archibald helped 

 him in the preparation of the geological section of the " Challenger " Eeports, 

 and Murray took an active part in the many excursions which are ever 

 the delight of the geological student. Sir Archibald has kindly written the 

 following lines : — 



" During the preparation of the geological parts of the ' Challenger ' 

 Eeports we had long talks over the problems suggested by the observa- 

 tions made on the voyage. He was always an original and suggestive 

 thinker in connection with these problems. Nowhere are his originality 

 and acuteness more conspicuous than in his discussion of the origin of 

 coral reefs. Up to this time, Darwin's explanation held the field, 

 though a few observers had challenged its universal application. But 

 when Murray published his views, in which he combated the proofs of 

 vast oceanic subsidence and held that all the types of coral reef could 

 be accounted for without subsidence and even with local elevation, he 

 effected one of the most striking revolutions in geological theory which 

 have taken place in our time. When Alexander Agassiz took up the 

 question and made a prolonged series of expeditions over the coral 

 regions of the oceans he brought a vast mass of fresh material in support 

 of Murray's opinions. While I think it quite possible that here and 

 there Darwin's explanation may be found to hold, I feel tolerably 

 certain, after Agassiz's ample succession of exploration, that Murray is 

 right for the general origin of coral reefs over the globe. 



" Then Murray's laborious researches into the nature and distribution 

 of the materials that are accumulating on the ocean floor and his classifi- 

 cation of them broke entirely new ground in the Dynamical section of 



