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POPULAR MISCELLANY.
Deep-Sea Bottom Deposits.—The deep-sea bottom deposits found by the Challenger expedition are classified as follows by Mr. Murray, naturalist on the scientific staff:
1. Shore-deposits, and these are mud of a variety of colors, as blue, gray, green, red, also coral-mud and sands; 2. Globigerina ooze; 3. Radiolarian ooze; 4. Diatomaceous ooze; 5. Red and gray clays. To these may be added peroxide of manganese in nodules and grains widely diffused.
The character of the sea-bottom contiguous to the shores is determined largely by that of the adjacent lands. Thus coral-mud occurs in the vicinity of coral-islands, and volcanic products near volcanic districts.
This general feature of the coast extends in some cases 150 miles seaward; an exception was found, however, among the coral-islands of the Pacific, where the coral-mud occurs as a narrow band around the islands.
Globigerina ooze is the most abundant deep-sea deposit next to the clays. It does not occur in the inclosed seas in the Pacific north of latitude 10° north, nor south of latitude 50° south.
Radiolarians occur in most seas, but only in limited areas are they sufficiently abundant to give a distinctive character to the ooze. In the Antarctic Ocean a diatom ooze is found, and radiolarian ooze was brought up from the great depth of 4,475 fathoms—nearly four and three-quarter miles. The skeletons of these minute organisms are siliceous.
The red clay is the most abundant deposit, and below depths of 2,000 fathoms is very widely diffused. The skeletons of siliceous organisms are abundant in it, but calcareous shells are few, and in some specimens wholly wanting. The author seems to refer the origin of the red and gray clays to lavas, scoria?, pumice, volcanic ashes, and possibly meteoric or cosmic dust; and adds, "If there be an ash after the carbonate of lime is removed by acid or other agent, this will be another source." But Prof. Wyville Thomson distinctly states that the red clay is essentially the insoluble ash or residue of calcareous organisms which form the globigerina ooze, after the calcareous matter has been removed; and this conclusion is confirmed by the very careful experiments made by Mr. Buchanan, who treated the ooze with dilute acids.
The author states that efforts to detect free protoplasm in the dredgings was attended by no definite result. Some specimens, however, assumed a jelly-like aspect, with flocculent matter when in spirits. This flocculent matter was found by Mr. Buchanan to be "sulphate of lime precipitated from sea-water, and the author infers that the so-called 'Bathybius' and the amorphous sulphate of lime are identical." In this connection he quotes a report on the subject by Mr. Buchanan which states
