The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-25 00:00:00

NEWPORT.

Beef, from 3s Od to 4s 4d ; mutton, 3s 4d to 4s 8d ; lamb,
5s 4d to tis 4d ; veal, 4s Od to 43 8d; pork, 4s Od to 53 Od
per Übe., by the carcase.

WHITECHAPEL.

Beef from 3s 2(I to 4s 44; mutton, 3s 4d to 4s sa ; lamb
53 41 to Gs 4d ; veal, 3s 101 to 4s ; pork, 3s 101 to 53 Od
per 81bs., by the carcase. •
BILLINGSGATE.

Turbots, 2.4 6d to 15s ; Brills, 2s to 10s each ; Salmon,
is ful to is 9d per lb ; Cod Fish, 2s Od to 7s each ; Soleg, 6d.
to 2s 6d per pair • Trout, Is to Is 3d per lb ; Lobsters, is to
3s 61; Crabs, rid 2s 6d • Whitings, 3s Od to 103 per doz. ;
Common Oysters, 163 to 203 ' • Natives 503 to —s per bsh• ;
Mackerel, 2 is to 3?s per 100 ; Smelts, is 6d to Os Od per doz. ;
Skate, 6d to Od per lb; Shrimps, is 6d to 2s 6d per gallon ;
Bloaters, 5s 01 to 8s Oct per 100 ; Fresh Herrings, 4s
to Os per 100; Scotch do.' Od; Sprats, Os Od to Os Oct pet
bushel ; Doreys, le Od to 7s each ; HadOocks, 4s to 15s per
dez.; Pike, 641 ; Sturgeon, 6d per lb ; Prawns, 7s Od to Os;
Mullets, fid to Is 6d each ; Plaice, 4d to is each ; Halibut,
fed per lb ; Flounders, is Od to is tid per doz. ; salt fish,
Od per lb ; Eels, 8d to Is.
BREAD.

The prices of wheaten bread in the metropolis are from
81 to B,d; of household ditto, 6d to 'rid per 4 lb loaf.

HIDES AND SKINS.

Market hides, 561i;1:;541:0, s.id to 51d ; 641 b to 721 b, sid
to sid ; 'nth to 801 b, sid to 6d ; 801 b to 881 b, 6d to qd ;
36'lb to 961 h, 6FI to Qd ; 961 b to 1041 b, bid to 6id ; 1011 b
to 1121 b, Od to Od ; upwards, to —d ; horse hides,
lOs Od to Os Od ; Calf skins, light, 3s 01 to 5s Od ; ditto
full, 9s 6d to Os Od; Polled Sheep, —s Od to —a Od ;.gents,
8s 6(1 to 98 6d ; Half-breds, 8s 6d to 9s 6d ; Downs, 68 Od to
7s Gd ; Shearlings, is 5d to is 6d ; Lambs, 2a 6(1 to 3s 9d.

THE GULF STREAM IN THE ATLANTIC.

The general description of the Gulf Stream,
apart from any present question as to its sources is,
that of a vast and rapid ocean-current, liming from
I the basin of the Mexican Gulf and Carribean Sea,
doubling the southern cape of Florida; pressing
forwards to the north-east, in a line almost parallel
to the American coast ; touching on the southern
borders of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and.
at some seasons 'partially paSsine over the'o ;
thence, with increasing width and diffusion, travers-
ing the whole breadth of the Atlantic, *itch a cen-
tral direction towards the British Isles ;and finally
losing itself by still wider diffusion in thii, Bay of
Biscay, on our own shores, and upon the long line
fof the Norwegian coasts. Its identity- in physi,ral
characters is preserved throughout the many
thousand miles of its continuous flow—the only
change undergone is that of degree. As its
waters gradually commingle with. those of the
surrounding sea their deep blue tint declines,
their high temperature diminishes, the speed
with which they press forward abates. But
taking the stream in its total course, it well war-
rants the vivid description and the name bestowed
upon it by a modern author, of a "river in the
ocean." This epithet (bringing to memory the
in) Or urea() of Homer), is, in truth, singularly ap-
proprra'e to this vast current ; so constant and con-
tinuous iu its course ; and so strangely detached
from the great mass of ocean waters ; which, while
seemingly cleft asunder to give path to its first Im-
pulse, are yet ever pressing upon it, greidually im-
pairing its force and destroying its individuality.
The maximum of velocity, where the stream quits
the narrow channel of Bemini, which compresses its
egress from the gulf, is about 4 miles an hour. Off
Cape Hatteras, in North Carolina, where it has
gained a breadth of 75 miles, the velocity is re-
duced to three miles. On the parallel of the New-
foundland banks it is further reduced to a mile and
a half an hour, and this gradual abatement of force
is continued across the Atlantic. The tempera-
ture of the current undergoes similar change.
The highest observed is about 85 degrees Fahren-
heit. Between Cape Hatteras and Newfoundland,
though lessened in amount, the warmth of the
stream in winter is still 25 or 30 degrees above that
of the ocean through which it flows. Nor is this
heat w Lolly lost when it reaches, and is spread over,
the coasts of northern Europe. The waters, thus
constantly flowing to us from the tropical-regions,
bring warmth as well as abundant moisture to our
own islands, and Ireland especially, upon which
they more directly impinge, doubtless derives nrsuch
of its peculiarity of climate, its moisture, verdure,
and abundant vegetation -from this source. Were
it needful to seek proof of the permanence of the
great natural phenomenon of which we are speak-
ing, we might find it in those curious passages of
ancient geographers—Pomponiaus Mela and J. So-.
linus Polyhistor, for example—which describe the
peculiarities of the Irish soil and climate 18 centu-
ries ago, almost as we should depict them now.
But the influence of the Gulf Stream does not stop
even here. The climate it may be said to con-
vey is diffused, more or less, over the
whole Norwegian coast, the aspects and pro-
duce of which singularly contrast with those
of the corresponding latitudes in North America,
Greenland, and Siberia. Other causes doubtless
contribute to this effect, but none, we apprehend,
so largely or unceasingly. The influence of the
temperature of the Gulf Stream upon animal life
in the ocean is very curious. The whale so sedu-
lously shuns its warm waters as almost to indicate
their track by its absence, while yet abundantly
found on each aide of it. The physical reasons are
doubtless the same which prevent this great marine
mammal from ever crossing the equator from one
hemisphere to the other—a fact now well ascer-
tained. The various species of fish which are firm
and of excellent flavour in the colder .belt of the sea
upon the American coast lose all their good quali-
ties when taken.out of the Gulf Stream running
closely parallel to it. On the other hand, the
more delicate marine productions, whether animal
or vegetable, which multiply and prosper by warmth,
are redundant in the Gulf Stream, even after it bas
quitted the tropical regions whence its heat is de-
rived. The food is thus matured for the whale
field of the Azores, where this huge denizen of the
seas flourishes in colder waters amid the abundance
so provided.—Edinburgh Review.