The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-09-02

ception Of the catch proportionately
small The great trawl which is now
being constructed by the Fish Commits |
sion for use on the coming expedition |
of the Albatross will have mouth 20 |
feet in width by in height and its net
VIII be 80 feet in length. 1t is being
made after a special design by Charles
II. Townsend of the Fish Commission
and Will be operated at the greatest
possible depth consistent with safety.
Deep-sea naturalists are of the opinion
that the oceans bed is inhabited by
creatures of much greater size than
any which have heretofore been
brought to the surface. This opinion
the men who Will sail on the Albatross
expect 10 confirm.
Another curious appliance for deep
sea work, from which important re-
suits are expected, is deep-Sea pump
which Will be used on this expedition
Tor the first time. 1t is an invention
OF Professor Agassiz. 1t consists of a
rubber tube of such length that one
end can be let far down into the ocean
depths. Through it water containing
the more minute forms of deep-sea life
which are supposed to exist on the
oceans bed and furnish food for those
of larger size will be pumped TO the
surface.
The record for the greatest depth
ever reached in deep-sea dredging is
held by the beam trawl of the Alba
tross. This is three miles. The deep
est spot in the oceans bed lies down
in the South Pacific Ocean. about eight
hundred miles to the northeast of New
Zealand. 1t was recently discovered
2 ~
and the plummet dropped overheard
reached a sheer depth OF five and half
miles before it rested on the oceans
bed. The Albatross will take with her
on the coming expedition sufficient
wire rope to operate a trawl at a depth
even equalling this, and it is possible
that she will make a detour from her
scheduled course to dredge and sound
this particular part of the oceans bot
tom.
! When the Albatross leaves San Fran
cisco she will proceed directly 20 Ia
hiti, in the Society Islands. On. this
! trip Of $500 miles dredging and sound
! ings will be carried on at almost regu-
| lar intervals on an almost wholly I'M
| explored part of the oceans bottom. 1t
! is expected that the average depth of
the ocean between San Francisco and
Tahiti will be found to exceed three
miles. From Tahiti the Paumotu
Islands will be explored. This archi-
pelagO is about six hundred miles in
length, and it's natural history is al
most unknown. After devOting six or
seven weeks to the work of eXplOra-
ton the vessel will return to the So
ciety islands. 1t will next go to the Ton
ga or Friendly Islands, distance of
l.
days will be spent From there the
Albatross will steer a course for the
Fiji Islands, where short stay will
be made, and will go thence LOO miles
to the Marshall Islands. On the way
the Ellice Islands and the Gilbert
Islands will be visited. Five weeks
will be devoted to the exploration and
study of the fauna in and around the
Marshall Islands.
The course will then be changed to
the northeast, and an almost straight
line of 4 ZOO miles will be made for San
Francisco, taking in on ME way the
Hawaiian Islands. Over this course a
line of deep-sea dredgingS will be run,
deep-sea tow nets being used while the
dredging is going on. This work is ex-
pected to be one of the most interesting
features of the expedition.
| An interesting point in controversy
between European and American deep
sea explorers will be settled on this
voyage of the Albatross. The scientific
men of the Old World have always
commended that the sea is inhabited by
various forms Of life at all depths.
The Americans, on the other hand, say
that life beyond the Continental slopes
i is confined to an upper layer of the
oceans surface at depth of a few hum
! dred fathoms, and lower layer con-
sisting of submarine fishes and ami
mails which live along the bottom of
the ocean. The Albatross will drag
nets, which are opened and closed at
any desired stage of their descent,
through all successive stages of the
oceans depth and will thus be able to
determine the matter absolutely.
! Fish Commissioner George NJ. Bow
ers and DR.. Hugh NJ. Smith have re-
ceived the hearty approval of the
President in their plans for the expe-
dition, and it is expected that most i'm
pOrtant information of a practical ma
ture regarding the food fishes of the
Pacific waters will be obtained. The
Department of State has communicated
through the American Ambassadors
with the French, German and English
authorities for the purpose of having
the representatives of these Govern
ments instructed to accord special priv
ileges to the Albatross. The reports
embodying the results of the expedi-
ton will be published Jointly by the
Fish Commission and the Museum of
Comparative Zoology.
! In a recent letter Professor Agassiz
refers to his explorations in the Ba-
hamas, the Bermudas, Cuba, Florida,
the Fiji Islands, the Australian Great
Barrier Reef, the Hawaiian Islands, the
Bay of Panama, the Galapagos Archi-
pelago and the Gulf of California, and
then says:
The expedition now proposed I con-
slider the most important one | have