CHAPTER X 



THE DARK UNFATHOMED CAVES OF OCEAN 



Last Recollections of the Andaman Sea : A Miraculous Haul in 

 188-220 Fathoms: Glass-rope Sponges: A Hospitable Star- 

 fish : Other Queer Fishes : The Lobster and its Deep-sea 

 Relatives. A Haul in 405 Fathoms : Coral Relics of a Bygone 

 Age : Liime7i ademptum. The Submarine Plain of the Bay of 

 Bengal and its Fauna. Hearts of Oak : Pro cive servato. Vivi- 

 parous Bony Fishes. Viviparous Elasmobranchs. 



Before we left the Andaman Sea, we took two last 

 hauls of the trawl, in 188-220 fathoms and 405 fathoms, 

 in the neighbourhood of the Cinque Islands. The first 

 of them was the most prolific that I have ever assisted 

 at. Though the bottom was soft green mud — tempera- 

 ture 56° Fahr. — the trawl was so skilfully handled by 

 Captain Hoskyn, that it did not fill with that objection- 

 able and disappointing substance, but brought up such 

 an enormous load of specimens, that I despaired of 

 getting them safely laid in their first pickle of spirit 

 before they should go bad. 



As the trawl-bag came clear of the sea, it seemed 

 at first sight as if it had fouled a sunken haystack, 

 for there stuck out on all sides things that looked 



U5 ^ 



