WCP2031

Letter (WCP2031.1921)

[1]1

10 Moray Place,

EDINBURGH

13 April 1880

Alfred R Wallace Dr. FRS &c

Dear Sir

I have delayed answering your letter of the 4th until I could see Mr. Murray2. The only analyses of Globerigina ooze3 collected by the Challenger4 are to be found in the appendix to Sir Wyville Thomson[']s5 book on the Atlantic6. Mr. Murray tells me that other analyses have been made but are not yet published. Since March of 1877 I have had no connection with Challenger work whatever, I have [2] therefore not been able to make any analyses myself.

You will see from Mr. Brazier's7 analyses at the end of Sir Wyville Thomson's book that globerigina ooze, like other deep sea deposits is by no means a homogeneous substance, that in fact it includes mixtures of shell debris (calcareous matter) clay & sand in proportions varying between wide limits. Sand is no instance[?] of impurity in a deepsea [sic] deposit, in fact I think [3]8 that it is invariably an ingredient in deep sea bottoms no matter how distant the nearest land may be. In order to get information up to date you should apply to Sir Wyville Thomson or either directly or through Mr John Murray 32 Queen Street Edinburgh and it is not unlikely that he may be willing to supply it.

I remain | Yours truly | J. Y. Buchanan [signature]

[4]9

1
Page numbered 99 in pencil in top RH corner
2
Murray, John (1841-1914) Scottish oceanographer, marine biologist and member of the Challenger expedition (see Endnote 4). Afterwards appointed Chief Assistant at the Challenger offices in Edinburgh where he managed and organised the collection. After Thompson's death in 1882 he became Director of the office and published in 1896 The Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger, a work of more than 50 volumes (see Endnote 4).
3
Vast areas of the ocean floor are covered with Globigerina ooze, a calcareous sediment including skeletal material of Globerigina, a genus of planktonic Foramenifera, which dates back to the Late Eocene period.
4
The expedition of H.M.S. Challenger, led by Charles Wyville Thomson, to survey and explore the world's oceans, sailed on 21 December 1872 and travelled nearly 130,000 km. A variety of dredges and trawls were used to collect biological samples at various depths and from the sea bottom. The result was the Report Of The Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76 which catalogued over 4,000 previously unknown species. Findings from the expedition continued to be published until 1895, 19 years after the completion of its journey.
5
Thomson, Charles Wyville (1830-1882). Scottish naturalist and marine zoologist. He was the scientific director of the Challenger expedition (see Endnote 4).
6
Thomson, C. W. (1878) Preliminary Account: The Atlantic, Vols. I and II. This preliminary account of the H.M.S. Challenger expedition was published shortly after the conclusion of the expedition.
7
Brazier (no information) co-author of chapter in one of the 50 volumes of the Challenger report (see Endnotes 2 and 4): Deep Sea Deposits: Chemical Analyses of Marine Deposits, Manganese Nodules, Phosphatic Concretions, Zeolitic Crystals, Volcanic Lapillae, Glauconite, Bones of Cetaceans, Teeth of Sharks, &c. By Professors Brazier, Dittmar, Renard, Sipöcz, Mr. Anderson, and others. (Appendix III.)
8
Page numbered 100 in pencil in top RH corner
9
Blank page. "Buchanan" is written in pencil at the top of the page. Half way down the page "MA FRS" is written and beneath it "Chemist and Physicist to Chalenger [sic] Ex" is written in pencil. British Museum stamp near end of the page.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2031.1921)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2015-05-07] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-05-07] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10]

Please cite as “WCP2031,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2031