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Messrs. Carpenter and Jeffreys on [Dec. 8> 



near the Coast, on either side, where the ground was rocky and unequal, 

 the bottom was found everywhere to consist of a tenacious mud, composed 

 of a very fine yellowish sand mixed with a bluish clay, — the former pre- 

 dominating in some spots, the latter in others. Large quantities of this 

 mud were laboriously sifted, often without yielding any thing save a few 

 fragments of Shells, or a small number of Foraminifera ; and in no instance 

 was it found to contain any considerable number of living animals of any 

 description. Our disappointment at this unexpected paucity of life was not 

 small ; and it was destined, as will hereafter appear, to continue through 

 the whole of our Dredging-exploration of the deeper portions of the Medi- 

 terranean basin. The operation of Dredging in the shallower portions 

 nearer shore was rendered difficult by the rocky nature of the bottom, on 

 which the dredge continually " fouled ; " and after the loss of two more 

 dredges and a considerable quantity of rope, Capt. Calver came to the 

 conclusion that the " tangles " only should be used where the inequality of 

 the soundings indicated danger to the Dredge. Now the " tangles," whilst 

 gathering Polyzoa, Echinoderms, Crustacea, and the smaller Corals, some- 

 times even better than the Dredge, pick up but few Shells ; and hence our 

 collection of Mollusca is altogether a scanty one. Nevertheless many of the 

 types we did obtain were of considerable interest. Thus at Station 45, at a 

 depth of 207 fathoms, we got Turbo Romettensis, Seguenza, MS. (Sicilian 

 fossil); Scalaria plicosa (Sic. foss.); Odostomia obliquata^h. ; Philine, two 

 undescribed species ; and an interesting Coral (Dendrophyllia corrugosa). 



49. On the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 20th, we anchored in Cartagena 

 Bay, in which we got Taranis Morchi, Malm (northern), and Pleurotoma 

 decussata, Ph. (Sic. and Cor. Cr. foss.). We left this harbour on the fol- 

 lowing Monday morning, and proceeded to a point (Station 48) at which we 

 expected to find deeper water than any we had previously sounded in this 

 year's work. Bottom was here struck at 1328 fathoms ; and its tempera- 

 ture, 54°* 7, proved still conformable to the uniform standard previously ob- 

 served. The density of the water was not as great as we had found it on a 

 shallower bed, its Specific Gravity being 1 *0282, and its proportion of Chlo- 

 rine 21*32. The specimen of the bottom brought up by the Sounding-appa- 

 ratus was not promising ; and when the dredge was hauled in, filled with 

 stiff mud, but without any sign of Animal life, we experienced the truth of 

 the beatitude " Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not 

 be disappointed." Large quantities of this mud were washed and sifted 

 without yielding more than a few comminuted fragments of shell ; and we 

 were reluctantly driven to the conclusion that there was " nothing in it." 

 The like result attended the exploration we made the next day at another 

 Station (49), where we found the depth to be 1412 fathoms, and the 

 Temperature and Density of the bottom-water to be almost exactly the 

 same as at the last Station. We then steamed towards the Algerine Coast, 

 and took a dredging in shallow water 5-5 1 fathoms, which gave us a few 

 Shells of considerable interest : — Venus multilamella, Lamarck (Monte 



