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sufficiently greedy ; and tlieir conduct to tlie Stolteii-
lioffs, if their story be true, which we have never had
any reason to doubt, in landing surreptitiously and
killing the last of the flock of goats on Inaccessihle
Island, if not actually criminal, was to say the least
most questionable.
M' bile the party on land were struggling among the
tussocks and penguins, and gaining an experience of
the A'igour of spontaneous life, animal and vegetable,
Avhich they are not likely soon to forget, the ship
took a cruise round the island to enable the surveyors
to put in the coast line ; and in the afternoon
the hauls of the dredge AA'ere taken in 100 and 150
fathoms. A large quantity of things AA'ere procured
of all groups, the most prominent a fine species of
Primnoa, many highly-coloured Goi'gonice, and a
A'ery elegant Mopsea or some closely allied form.
Lopliohelia prolìfera or a very similar sjiecies was
ahundant, associated Avitli an Ampliilielia and a fine
Cmnocgatlms. Hydroids and sponges AA'ere in considerable
number tangled in masses with calcareous
and horny bryozoa. There were a few star-fishes, and
a A'ery few mollusca. The whole assemblage resembled
a good deal the produce of a haul in shalloAV
water off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco.
On the following day we crossed over, sounding and
dredging on our Avay, to Avithin a mile and a half of
the Avest shore of the Island of Tristan. A haul in
1,000 fathoms gave us somewhat to our surpise some
most typical samples of the common EoMnus flemingii,
along with Ophiomusium lymani and Ehizocrinus.
lYe dredged a second time as Ave were nearing Tristan
in 550 fathoms, and took one or tAVO sj)ecimens of
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