The Admiralty have printed privately the fourth number of the Hydrographic Proceedings of H.M.S. Challenger, being a Report on Ocean Soundings and Temperatures in the China and adjacent Seas, together with that portion of the Pacific which lies between New jajnea and Japan. From Capt. Frank Thomson's despatch we find that the Challenger, leaving Hongkong on Jan. 6, proceeded to Manila, and thence to Zebu, a small island in the Philippine Group. From Zebu he "determined to call at the volcanic island of Camiguin, and at Prof.' Thomson's request, ascertain' the depth of temperature close under the mile of it they found 190 brown mud bottom, and usual temperature, The height of the ascertained to be 1,950 feet, and that a of only four yeara. The Spanish Nav: mandant having agreed to let him have 100 tons of coal, Capt. Thomson went to their depot Port Ieabela on Feb. 3, This place is ya imple of ricketts jetties sry pleasant coaling station,
a depth of 21 feot alongside, are the only skip to except bot ra." On ti 16th of us of coaling, and nothing to secure the
position of Carteret rear" soundings the ship "being in the supposed at noon in 2,000 fathoms, wth nothing in a clear eight miles horizon. Finding "were gradually being set towards the coast of New Guinea," Capt. Thomson re-Ived to call in at' Humboldt Bay. and give Prof. Thomson and his opportunity of making some researches."
February 24th they anchored well up the bay, and "boats were hoisted out and armed to "gin work; but the menacing attitude of the natives on two occasions determined me to eave the same evening. A stay of a week or a oad underatandi but with such uncer-days would, perhaps, have brought about
tainty time, I feared, could not be spared nor did I consider that the service on which I waa engaged would justify an embroilment, perhaps bloodshed. There were about one hundred canoes alongside during the whole day, with from three to six natives.in each, but'not one of them could be induced to put a foot on board, and although trade was carried on briskly the whole time, and in the fairest spirit on both sides, for bows and arrows ive productions, nevertheless, up went their bows on the most groundless larin, even on the back turn of the screw." before first, when we begin, as doubt-Clearly, our colonists will have a difficult task
Jong, tocolonize New Guinea, On his way to Japan, Captain Thomson had counted on fetching Guam in the Ladrones, but the wind and current carried the ship to the twatd, without one of the islands being sighted, "Soundings were taken at regular intervals, and in this region, on March 2st, in Int, 11.24 N., long. 143.16 E., they "sounded in 4,475 fathoms, the deepest water as yet obtained"! In the tabular abstract of soundings, we notice that they also got a sounding of 4,575 fathoms (i.e., five miles and 350 yards), on the same day: the bottom was red clay with a temperature of 33.9.
Staff Commander T.-H. Tizard furnishes some carefully drawn up remarks on the tem-Banda seas, to a portion of which, howeve eraturo of the Chins, Sulu, Celebes, and
only we can here call attention. Ho observes generally that "the temperatures obtained the seas partially enclosed by the Indian Archipelago, prove that they have each of them deep basins cut off from the general oceanic circul by ridges connecting the islands which surround them; for although in each sea soundings of over 2,000 fathoms were obtained, in no case did the temperature decrease'in a regular curve from the surface to the bottom, as is usual in the open ocean in every case after attaining a certain depth the temperature below that depth remained same; thus, in the Banda and China Seas temperature remained the same from 900 fathoms to the bottom, in the Celebes Sea from 700 fathoms to the bottom, and in the Sulu Sea from" 400 fathoms to the bottom." Accurious fact is noted with regard to the Salu Sea, viz., that it has a higher minimum temperature than either of the sess in communication with it, The minimum tempera ture, viz., 50.5, is invariably. reach depth of 400 fathoms;.
Sea this temperature will be of 200 fathoms, in the.. Colebes Sea at: 180 fathoms, and in the Pacific at a depth fathoms. It may, therefore, be inferred that the Sulu Sea'is prevented from. freely interchanging its waters with those. of the China Sea by a joining Palawan, and the Philippine Islands, wh of 180 and 230 ince, Passing bes and Banda Seas, we come to those on the the China Sea, a subject which is treated at length. ' In the seas mentioned the temperature a bat in the China Sea is partly owing to alma: being under 100 fatho im each of those seas th outlet into the ocean rly the same as the mean latitude of the sea-itself, consequent! the water which they derive from the ocean subject to the same, or nearly the ditions in their basing as it is in that pa the ocean which supplies them. In the Chi Sea this is very different, as, although ite mean latitude is 11 N., the mean latitude of its outlet into the Pacific Ocean bet north point of Luzon and Formosa is 20} N.; and the mean latitude of the shallow water, which always has a hig which extends all westward of the meridian of 109 E., in 5 N.5 and furthermore, the China Sea has, in the winter, a large range of surface temperature, From 64. at Hongkong to 84 at Slagapore, whilst the surface temperature of the other algo greatly affects this the first four mouths of the tion is greater than the rain-fall, the rest th Il is greatest. at Manila, the is 95.36 inches; at Labuan 116 incher at Hongkong 80.14 inches disturbing element in this sen, for whilst during the North-east monsoon the surface water is forced by the wind into the China Sea from a higher and colder \than the mean latitude of this out by the wind., therefore, that during the prevalence of the North-east monsoon, water has to be drawn into the China Sea from the surface to replace ti amount drawn off from an excess of evaporai -fall, and that this movement of is greatly accelerated by the strong North-east: wind that prevails at the same time; 80 much'so, i fact, that more water into the sea than is necessary, as proved by the almost constant outflow in this monsoon through the narrow Straite commu: nating with the Java Sen and Indian Ocean xoees of ti leeper water of the sea." During fgoenon. Consequently, inthe the South-west monsoon an opposite proce former cast water will have dency. "to sink an into the Pacific Ocean, the latter, it will low in and face," and in this case the mi surface than in m which the writer draws is that the China Sea is cut off from the general circulation of the Pacific (ite jum temperature of 36,1 being at a depth of about 900 fathoms in that ocean)," but, that it is not possible to form 'a good, timate of the depth of the ridge which separates it from the Pacific," though he considers that it may probably be put between 700 and 1,000 fathoms.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.