NOTES AND LITERATURE 



THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN 1 



The publication of this work marks an epoch in the advance 

 of the science of oceanography second only to that initiated upon 

 the return of the Challenger Expedition, but while the explora- 

 tions of the Challenger were extensive and of necessity some- 

 what superficial, these later studies conducted by the Michel 

 Sars are predominately intensive and thorough. 



Not the least valuable of the lessons the book teaches us is the 

 fact that thrn 1 1 _ • . , i id courageous use of a small vessel 



by trained experts, results of the highest value to science may 

 yet be achieved. 



One admires the courage of the leaders of this expedition who 

 ventured to cross and recross the Atlantic in a little steamer 

 only 125 feet in length, and with a coal supply capable of carry- 

 ing her only 3,400 miles at the economical speed of 9 knots. 



The cruise was evidently conducted under the most auspicious 

 conditions respecting its management, the Norwegian govern- 

 ment providing the vessel, while Sir John Murray supplied the 

 funds necessary for the expenses of the expedition ; and it may 

 be well to recall the fact that the most successful expeditions of 

 the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross were con- 

 ducted under a somewhat similar arrangement between the late 

 Dr. Alexander Agassiz and the government. 



Thus the ripe experience of the veteran leader in this field of 

 research, Sir John Murray, was enlisted to perfect the methods 

 of such active young students of oceanography as Dr. Hjort and 

 his able associates, Professors Koefoed, Gran, and Helland-Han- 

 sen, all of whom accompanied the expedition. 



The cruise lasted from April until August, 1910, extending 

 from Plymouth to Gibraltar, thence to the Canaries and then to 

 the Azores, from which region a run was made into the Sar- 

 gasso Sea and on to Newfoundland, and thence to Glasgow and 

 Bergen. 



The book before us is, however, far more than an account of 

 this cruise, rich as its results are in achievement in new fields, 

 for it is actually an epitome of all results hitherto attained in 



1 A general account of the modern science of oceanography based largely 

 on the scientific researches of the Norwegian steamer Michel Sars in the 

 North Atlantic; by Sir John Murray, K.C.B., F.R.S., etc., and Dr. Johan 

 Hjort, Director of Norwegian Fisheries, with contributions from Professor 

 A. Appellof , Professor H. H. Gran, and Dr. B. Helland-Hansen, xx + 821 

 pp., 575 figures. Macmillan and Co., Limited, London. 



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