350 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
at the time. The yield of the trawling was extraordinarily 
abundant; large asterids, crinoids, sponges, holothuria, a 
gigantic sea-spider (Pycnogonid), masses of worms, Crustacea, &c. 
■ It loas the most ahundant yield that the traiul-net at any one time 
hroiight u]? d/aring the whole of onr voyage ro und the coast of Asia, 
and this from the sea off the northern extremity of that 
continent. 
Among the forms collected here we may specially refer to 
the large sea-spider, of which a drawing is given (p. 349) ; 
and three specimens of small stalked crinoids. The depth 
varied between 60 and 100 metres. The temperature of the 
water was at the surface -!- 0° to — 0°’6 ; at the bottom —1°'4 to 
1°'6 ; its salinity was considerable, both at the bottom, where it 
was very nearly equal to that of the other great oceans, and at 
the surface, where it was indeed about a fifth-part less, but 
yet much greater than that of the surface-water in the Kara 
Sea. 
It is singular that a temperature under the freezing-point 
of pure water should be advantageous for the development 
of an animal life so extremely rich as that which is found here, 
and that this animal life should not suffer any barm from the 
complete darkness, which during the greater portion of the 
year prevails at the bottom of the ice-covered sea. 
When we got out of the ice we steamed towards the land, 
which was sighted on the 23rd at 8.45 p.m. The land was low 
and free from snow; the depth of the sea at a distance of ten 
kilometres from the coast varied between thirteen and fifteen 
metres. The coast here stretched from north to south. We 
followed it at a distance of seven to ten kilometres. A north¬ 
westerly breeze here carried the vessel, without the help of 
steam, rapidly forward over a completely smooth sea. 
On the 24th August we still sailed along the land towards 
the south. The depth of the sea now increased to thirty-three 
metres at a distance of ten kilometres from land. The land rose 
