They  are  the  atoms  of  which  mountains  are  formed  and  plains  spread
out  Our  marl-beds,  the  clay  in  our  river-bottoms,  large  portions  of
many  of  the  great  basins  of  the  earth,  are  composed  of  the  remains  of
just  such  little  creatures  as  these,  which  the  ingenuity  of  Brooke  and
the  industry  of  Berryman  have  enabled  us  to  fish  up  from  the  depth  of
more  than  two  miles  (12,000  feet)  below  the  sea-level.  §  730.  The
diatoms  from  the  coral  sea  were  very  few  in  number,  and  mostly  frag-
mentary. §  753.  However,  the  specimens  of  sea-bottom  from  the
ocean  between  Lon.  168  to  175  £.  and  Lat  56*46  to  60*30  N.  were
very  rich  in  the  siliceous  shells  of  the  Diatomaceee,  which  were  in  an
admirable  state  of  preservation,  ftc   J  756,  note.
The  deep  sea-eoundings  from  the  Pacific  differ  considerably  from  those
of  the  Atlantic.  The  latter  soundings  were  composed  almost  wholly  of
calcareous  shells  of  the  Foraminiferse ;  those  from  the  coral  sea  contain
very  few  Foraminifierse,  and  are  of  a  siliceous  rather  than  of  a  calcareous
nature.   §  754.    (This  seems  a  little  discrepant.)

As  to  the  repose  of  the  sea  at  great  depths,  the  unabraded  appear^
anoe  of  these  shells,  and  the  almost  total  absence  of  the  mixture  of  any


TITAUTT  IN  THE   OCEAN.  623

detritus  from  the  sea,  or  foreign  matter,  suggest  forcibly  die  idea  of
perfect  repose  at  the  bottom  of  the  deep  sea.  §  760.  Ipdeed,  these
soundings  suggest  the  idea  that  the  sea,  like  the  snow-cloud  with  its
flakes  in  a  calm,  is  always  letting  fiadl  upon  its  bed  showers  of  these
microscopic  shells.  J  71.
