millatecl and finely grannlated, and of a dark brown
colour, almost lilack. A fractnre showed a semicrystalline
strnctnre ; the same dark-broAAm material
arranged in an ohscnrely radiating manner from the
centre and mixed AAdtli a small quantity of greyish-
white clayey matter. This nodnle Avas examined hy
Mr. Buchanan, and fonnd to contain, like the nodnles
dredged in 2,485 fathoms at Station 16, 700 miles to
the east of Sombrero, a large percentage of peroxide
of manganese. Some other concretionary lumps were
of a grey colour, hut all of them contained a certain
proportion of manganese, and they seemed to be
gradually changing into nodnles of pyrolnsite or Avad
by some process of infiltration or snhstitution.
On "Wednesday, Ju n e 18, Ave resumed our course
AAutli a fine breeze, force 5 to 7, from the south-east.
In this p a rt of our voyage Ave Avere again greatly
struck AA'ith the absence of the hioRer O forms of animal
life. Not a sea-bird AAms to be seen, with the exception
of a little flock of Mother Carey’s chickens, here
apparently ahvays Thalassidronia ioilsoni, aaI iIcIi kept
2)laying round the ship on the Avatch for food, every
noAv and then concentrating upon some peculiarly
rich store of offal as it passed astern, and staying hy
it Avhile the ship Avent on for a quarter of a mile,
ffnttering above the Avater and daintily touching it
AA'ith their feet as they stooped and picked up the
floating crumbs, and then rising and scattering in the
air to overtake us and resume their AAnitch.
The sea itself in the bright Aveather, usually under
a light breeze, AA^as singularly beautiful—of a splendid
indigo-hlue of varying shades as it passed from sunlight
into shadoAv, flecked AA'ith curling Avhite c re sts;