REPORT ON THE COMPOSITION OF OCEAN-WATER. 
29 
chlorine in their salts is the same throughout the whole set of waters analysed. At any rate 
the irregularities are of the nature of accidental errors ; none of them can he fairly 
attributed to the influence of depth or geographical position. This impression is confirmed 
by the following table, in which the first column enumerates a series of multiples of the 
“probable error” r of the individual result, while the second column states in how many 
cases the difference x 0 — x w r as less than the respective value v x r. The third column 
states what this number should be, according to the law of the frequency of error : — 
Error under v x r. 
v= 
Number of Cases. 
Counted. 
Calculated. 
±0-2 
9 
8-1 
0-4 
18 
16-2 
0-6 
28 
23-9 
0-8 
35 
31-2 
1-0 
39 
38 
1*2 
42 
44 
1-4 
49 
49-8 
1-6 
57 
54-6 
1-8 
59 
58-9 
2-0 
63 
62-6 
2-4 
70 
68-0 
3-0 
72 
72-7 
Error > 3 r. 
4 
3-3 
Total, 
. 76 
The Quantities of Sulphuric Acid. 
Next to those of chlorine, these rest upon the most precise determinations ; but to do 
justice to their precision, I thought I ought to recalculate them in terms of uh$|-weight of 
chlorine. I accordingly did so. The results are entered in the last column of the general 
table, pp. 23-24. In discussing these numbers I did not exclude the suspected 
case (Number 871), because I had not then made up my mind to reject it. As the 
SOg-quotient for it has no abnormal value, I did not consider it necessary to recalculate r 
and r 0 for the 7 6 cases, which only, strictly speaking, come into consideration. Found for — 
a- c . 
All the 77 cases analysed, .... 0T1576 
The 34 deep-sea waters, . . . 0T15 86 
The 43 shallow waters, . . . 0T15 69 
Value of x 0 for the deep-sea minus that for the shallow waters, + O’OOO 17 
r. r„. 
Not calculated. 
0-000 44 0-000 08 
0-000 34 0000 03 
