Haduon and GrREEN — Second Beporf on Irish Marine Fauna, 53 
prominent position in any outfit for deep-sea investigation, as being a 
certain means of obtaining specimens of the bottom. Seven of these 
dredges were on board, those we used being provided with bags of 
sackcloth. 
These dredges were admirably adapted for bringing up mud and 
sand, but as they filled themselves at once, by digging into the sea 
bottom, it was desirable to have a modification of form which would be 
better calculated for scraping the surface of the ocean floor. 
The Blahe Dredge was devised by Captain Sigsbee with this end in 
view. Its mouth, 3 feet wide, is similar to the ordinary Ball dredge, 
except that the scrapers are perfectly parallel, and not flaring, but its 
special peculiarity is the iron frame attached to the back, which keeps 
the whole machine on the surface of the bottom, and also holds the net 
in position, making it impossible for it to turn over, and foul the mouth 
of the dredge. Of this form we had one on board ; it was provided 
with a heavy rake which could be attached in front. We soon gave 
up using the rake, as we could discover no evidence of its being an 
advantage in working. 
This dredge, after doing good work, was lost in a depth of 680 
fathoms, owing to the steel wire breaking. The largest dredge we 
had with us we have called the curved dredge ; it was 4 feet wide by 
6" deep. The scrapers were made of two plates of iron, 6 inches 
wide, with a deep curve cut out. This curve formed the scraping 
edge, and possessed many of the advantages, of the curved foot 
rope of the trawl. It was heavier in proportion, sank better, and 
possessed many of the advantages of both dredge and trawl, while, 
owing to its curved mouth, it could not dig into the mud. Two iron 
bars were hinged on to the sides, and when in use these turned 
back, and were lashed to the tail of the net, thus precluding the possi- 
bility of the dredge going down foul. The bag was composed of small- 
meshed net, ending in a bag of sackcloth, and provided with a funnel. 
This dredge did its work well, bringing up both large and small forms 
of life, but it was lost under circumstances which I shall detail in next 
section. 
Experiments were made with a circular dredge, designed and lent 
to us by Mr. C. E. Eobinson, c.e., of Torquay, which seemed to be, on 
the whole, favourable. It was well calculated for digging deep into 
the mud, and so getting at Molluscs, &c., living beneath the surface. 
It took, however, a very heavy grip of the bottom, and we felt that it 
would endanger our rope, except when the sea was smooth. 
Tangles were always attached to the trawls and dredges ; they were 
