356 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
over the ground, at the rate sometimes of two to two and a-half 
miles an hour, invariably brought up a fine harvest of fishes 
and Crustacea, in addition to the usual contents of the sedentary 
and more sluggish forms. Although the deep-sea tow-net was 
used several times, we never brought up any of the so-called 
deep-sea Siphonophora of Studer, even in localities where they 
came up on the wire rope. 
Captain Sigsbee’s new sounding machine worked admirably, 
and he has every reason to be entirely satisfied with the im- 
provements he has made upon his former machine. 
We carried 6,000 fathoms of new galvanized steel-wire rope 
l T a g- inch in circumference made by the Koebling Sons’ Company, 
which, owing to its greater pliability, proved even more satisfac- 
tory than the wire rope used on the last cruise. The steel-wire 
rope continued during our whole cruise to give complete satisfac- 
tion, and enabled us, as in the previous year, to work with the 
greatest possible rapidity consistent with safety and with the 
proper handling of the trawls and dredges. 
We usually lowered in deep water at the rate of four to four 
and a-half or five minutes per 100 fathoms, and reeled in at the 
same rate. In the many places where we found rough or rocky 
bottom we used a flat bar of six-foot beam, to which rings were 
attached for fastening tangles and a shot. This bar, with from 
a dozen to fifteen bundles of tangles, proved perhaps our most 
effective machine in rough bottoms. It rarely fouled, as the 
dredges or trawls are so apt to do, when working over unfavour- 
able ground. The region over which we chiefly worked this 
year extended from St. Thomas to Trinidad. Over a limited 
area like this it was possible to cover .the ground very satisfac- 
torily. The work done off the principal islands began usually 
at the 1 00-fathom line, and extended into the deepest water off 
the lee side of the Caribbean Islands. But little could be done 
in the way of dredging in the passages between the islands or 
to the windward of them, owing to the strong trades. While 
working off Barbadoes we undoubtedly obtained a fair repre- 
sentation of the fauna to the windward of the Caribbean 
Islands, which does not seem to differ from that of the lee 
side. 
During this season we occupied no less than 200 stations, 
and made over 230 hauls from the 100-fathom line to the 
depth of 2,412 fathoms. A few hauls were occasionally made 
in shallow water, but they formed no part of our regular scheme. 
Although we have obtained from the West India Islands some 
of the most interesting invertebrates, yet we did not find the 
fauna of the eastern extremity of the Caribbean Sea materially 
different from that of the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of 
Florida. It certainly is by no means as rich in animal life at 
