An Interesting Expedition

Otago Witness, Issue 2719, 25 April 1906, Page 72

An Interesting Expedition

J ' (London Standard.); , '. > f M.r J. Stanley Garjiiwr. Lecturer in Zoology, and Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge, leader of the Siaden Trust Kxpedition for exploration in the Indian Ocean, has giv<?n "a representative of Reuter's Agency an account of the chief results of the- expedWon. Mr Gardiner, who returned to England- c a few days ago. said : — " Accompanied by my assistant, Mr «T. Forsler Cooper, I left England in March of last year, and joined H.M.S. Sealark, Commander Boyle Somerville, at Colombo, in May. We shaped a course for tho Cltagos Archipelago, south of the Loccadives, which is believed to be on the line of a former land' connection between .India and Madagascar, and the site of submerged! land. 33etwe«n all tho different atolls ' end banks of the group, soundings were taken, and these went to show that if land had existed th&re- tho subsequent depression must have been very groat indeed. Personally, I do not think there is any ques- _ tion that land existed at- one time- or other between Colombo and Madagascar, i '•■ It may be said that the great depth 1 of water in that region rather <?oes against ■ any supposition of that kind. The enormj ously strong currents, however,' must he I taken into* account. These could easily have worn away the bottom and increased the depth, more especially in view of a. * discovery we mads — namely, that these- cur-. routs extended to the bottcm. This is uninteresting point, as up to the present it, ! had been believed that currents" wete" active cnJy to a comparatively , small distance be- .- low ihe surface. . .' " Th© expedition came to an end at ihe -. Seychelles. As we look back over the result of our labours several facts are at once", ealient. For instance, as far as land oni- . I rr.als are concerned, we were exceedingly r disappointed. None of the specimens were indigenous. All seened to have bc-ea brought to the islands by artificial^ moans. • Each re3f was different from its neighbour, and all were different fro.-n these in the Pacific Ocean or other j,arts of the world. Enormous stem.3 of black coral — the rarest! variety — 7ft high were secured. The reefs., wo found, were mainly forced of whit© coral. "A very considerable variety of d^epsea fish weic brought up. At least half the number we secured seem quite new , specimens, and. I believe, aro not described! in any text book. Some of these had encrmous eyes, some only ludimentary eyes, ihe size of a pin's head, while some had: no eyes at all. On© of the most interesting; discoveries we made was that floating life is exceedingly abundant at all depths down, . to about 1200 fathoms in seas 2500 fathoms I dt-<?p. By floating life I mean animate I which form the f^ood o r whales and deep i ocean fish, and which, up to the- present, I Pave been believed to live on or very close - to the surface. A variety -of enormous squids were fished out, as well . as vjelly. fish, and gigantic prawns - fully 6in long-. ,* Some, of these latter were blind, while • others had hug© eyes, but nearly all of then?! - had phosphorescent organs, which would naturaJly be- due to the fact that they live at a denth where almost total darkrfess prevails. The -blind varieties had enormous feelers or antennae, sonva of them, extending to twice th© "length of thei? bodies. " Some forme, such as the water flea, which is only about the size of a pin's heed . in surface water, we discovered six or ten times that size in 600 or 700 fathoms."

— A litigation which arose from 100 bales of jute, -value £174, going amiseinsr between Calcutta and Dundee has run up a bill for <yj*fiS€g to. tk fame ftf £920 l& 3d.