﻿1874.] 
  

  

  ' 
  Challenger 
  ' 
  Soundings 
  in 
  the 
  Southern 
  Sea. 
  

  

  33 
  

  

  The 
  genera 
  principally 
  represented 
  by 
  these 
  casts 
  were 
  Miliola, 
  Bilocu- 
  

   lina, 
  Uvigerina, 
  Planorhulina, 
  Rotalia, 
  Textularia, 
  Bulimina, 
  and 
  Num- 
  

   mulina; 
  Globigerina, 
  Orbulina, 
  and 
  Pulvinulina 
  were 
  present, 
  but 
  not 
  

   nearly 
  in 
  so 
  great 
  abundance. 
  There 
  were 
  very 
  few 
  Foraininifera 
  on 
  the 
  

   surface 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  at 
  the 
  time. 
  This 
  kind 
  of 
  bottom 
  has 
  been 
  met 
  with 
  

   once 
  or 
  twice 
  before 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  evidently 
  exceptional, 
  depending 
  upon 
  

   some 
  peculiar 
  local 
  conditions. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  Cape, 
  as 
  far 
  south 
  as 
  our 
  station 
  in 
  lat. 
  46° 
  16', 
  we 
  found 
  no 
  

   depth 
  greater 
  than 
  1900 
  fathoms, 
  and 
  the 
  bottom 
  was, 
  in 
  every 
  case, 
  

   " 
  Globigerina-ooze 
  - 
  " 
  that 
  is 
  to 
  say, 
  it 
  consisted 
  of 
  little 
  else 
  than 
  the 
  shells 
  

   of 
  Globigerina, 
  whole, 
  or 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  broken 
  up, 
  with 
  a 
  small 
  proportion 
  

   of 
  the 
  shells 
  of 
  Pulvinulina 
  and 
  of 
  Orbulina, 
  and 
  the 
  spines 
  and 
  tests 
  of 
  

   Eadiolarians 
  and 
  fragments 
  of 
  the 
  spicules 
  of 
  Sponges. 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  our 
  departure, 
  Mr. 
  Murray 
  has 
  been 
  paying 
  the 
  

   closest 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  this 
  calcareous 
  formation, 
  

   which 
  is 
  of 
  so 
  great 
  interest 
  and 
  importance 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  its 
  anomalous 
  

   character 
  and 
  its 
  enormous 
  extension. 
  Very 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  voyage, 
  he 
  

   formed 
  the 
  opinion 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  organisms 
  entering 
  into 
  its 
  composition 
  

   at 
  the 
  bottom 
  are 
  dead, 
  and 
  that 
  all 
  of 
  them 
  live 
  abundantly 
  at 
  the 
  sur- 
  

   face 
  and 
  at 
  intermediate 
  depths, 
  over 
  the 
  Globigerina-ooze 
  area, 
  the 
  ooze 
  

   being 
  formed 
  by 
  the 
  subsiding 
  of 
  these 
  shells 
  to 
  the 
  bottom 
  after 
  death. 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  a 
  new 
  view. 
  It 
  was 
  advocated 
  by 
  the 
  late 
  Pro- 
  

   fessor 
  Bailey, 
  of 
  West 
  Point, 
  shortly 
  after 
  the 
  discovery, 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  

   Lieutenant 
  Brooke's 
  ingenious 
  sounding-instrument, 
  that 
  such 
  a 
  forma- 
  

   tion 
  had 
  a 
  wide 
  extension 
  in 
  the 
  Atlantic. 
  Johannes 
  Mueller, 
  Count 
  

   Pourtales, 
  Krohn, 
  and 
  Max-Schultze 
  observed 
  Globigerina 
  and 
  Orbulina 
  

   living 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  ; 
  and 
  Ernst 
  Haeckel, 
  in 
  his 
  important 
  work 
  upon 
  

   the 
  Radiolaria, 
  remarks 
  " 
  that 
  we 
  often 
  find 
  upon, 
  and 
  carried 
  along 
  by 
  

   the 
  floating 
  pieces 
  of 
  sea-weed 
  which 
  are 
  so 
  frequently 
  met 
  ^with 
  in 
  all 
  

   seas, 
  Foraminifera 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  other 
  animal 
  forms 
  which 
  habitually 
  live 
  at 
  

   the 
  bottom. 
  However, 
  setting 
  aside 
  these 
  accidental 
  instances, 
  cer- 
  

   tain 
  Foraminifera, 
  particularly 
  in 
  their 
  younger 
  stages, 
  occur 
  in 
  some 
  

   localities 
  so 
  constantly, 
  and 
  in 
  such 
  numbers, 
  floating 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  

   the 
  sea, 
  that 
  the 
  suspicion 
  seems 
  justifiable 
  that 
  they 
  possess, 
  at 
  all 
  events 
  

   at 
  a 
  certain 
  period 
  of 
  their 
  existence, 
  a 
  pelagic 
  mode 
  of 
  life, 
  differing 
  in 
  

   this 
  respect 
  from 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  their 
  class. 
  Thus 
  Miiller 
  

   often 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  surface-net 
  off 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  France, 
  the 
  

   young 
  of 
  Rotalia, 
  but 
  more 
  particularly 
  Globigerince 
  and 
  Orbulince, 
  the 
  

   two 
  latter 
  frequently 
  covered 
  with 
  fine 
  calcareous 
  tubes, 
  prolongations 
  of 
  

   the 
  borders 
  of 
  the 
  fine 
  pores 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  pseudopodia 
  protrude 
  

   through 
  the 
  shell. 
  I 
  took 
  similar 
  Globigerince 
  and 
  Orbulince 
  almost 
  daily 
  

   in 
  a 
  fine 
  net 
  at 
  Messina, 
  often 
  in 
  great 
  numbers, 
  particularly 
  in 
  February. 
  

   Often 
  the 
  shell 
  was 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  whole 
  forest 
  of 
  extremely 
  long 
  and 
  

   delicate 
  calcareous 
  tubes 
  projecting 
  from 
  all 
  sides, 
  and 
  probably 
  contri- 
  

   buting 
  essentially 
  to 
  enable 
  these 
  little 
  animals 
  to 
  float 
  below 
  the 
  surface 
  

  

  VOL. 
  XXIII. 
  D 
  

  

  