CRETACEOUS SEA-PROBLEMS 297 



In this mere mention of the Foraminifera, I do 

 not wish to advert to any matters of controversy, but 

 I should like to place on record, as perhaps affecting 

 in some slight way the vexed question of the nature 

 and depth of the Chalk Sea, the results of the rough 

 analyses, made by myself on board the ship, of the 

 samples of calcareous ooze brought up from the depths 

 while I was in the Investigator, 



The ooze dredged in 1600 to 2000 fathoms in the 

 open parts of the Bay of Bengal, remote from land 

 of any sort — ooze which seemed to consist entirely of 

 shells of Foraminifera with an admixture of nuggets 

 of pumice — was soluble in hydrochloric acid to the 

 extent of from 24 to nearly 75 per cent. 



That dredged in similar great depths up to 1735 

 fathoms near the mouth of the Bay of Bengal, but in 

 proximity to the Andaman Islands, was sometimes 

 nearly entirely soluble, and was usually soluble to the 

 extent of not less than 75 per cent. : this ooze con- 

 tained large numbers of Foraminifera. 



That dredged in the Arabian Sea, in 800 to 11 00 

 fathoms, far from the influence of continental land, and 

 considerably remote from the Laccadive banks and 

 islands — ooze which seemed to consist entirely of shells 

 of Foraminifera — yielded from 50 to 60 per cent, of 

 its weight to hydrochloric acid. 



Finally, the ooze dredged in depths ranging from 

 700 to 1370 fathoms in the immediate vicinity of the 



