Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1854-05-13

lpo1. in Rhode Island, the sea was always
smooth while any whaling vessels were in
II; whence the inference, that the leakage
from the barrels had mixed with the water
which was rom time TO time pumped up
from the holds OF the ships and that this
modicum of oil, spreading over the surface
of the harbor siilled the waves. ,-
Besides th,s, general repors--rumors
which were more trustworthy than 1t is
always the good fortune OF rumors TO be
there were many facts mentioned more
precisely by travellers, and natura'sts, and
others. Pennant said, tha. 'seas eat their
prey ben, h the water and, in case they
are devouring any very oily fish, the place
| is known by a certain srnoothness OF the
waters Immediately above a fact which
the ssal-fshprs are very glad TO store up
among their items of knowledge" Sir
| Gilfred Lawson, who served long in the
army at Gibralter, oscertained that the fish
ermen in that place were accustomed to
pour little oil on the SEA, in order TO still
its motion, that they might be enabled 10
see The oysters lying benea,h-which were
large and valuable, and were fshed up
with more facility by this aid. Sir John
Pringle--one of The lights OF the Royal
Society in the last century-iound that the
herring fishers on the coast OF Scotland
could, at a distance, see where the shoals
Of herrings were, by the smoo,hness of the
water over them, attributable, as he belize
we'd, to the oilnpss OF the fish. Count Ben
tinck, the Dutch Envoy at St. James, we
believe, showed DR.. Franklin a letter Gu
rousIv Illustrative of this subject; it was
from NJ. Teuguagrl, narrating the events
Of voyage IN a Dutch ship in seventeen
hundred and seventy, in the eastern seas.
Near the islands Paul and Amsterdam, the
ship encountered a storm; wherrupon,
the captain, for greater safety in wearing
the ship, poured some oil into the sea-
NJ. Teuguagel was upon deck al the time,
and he states that the plan succeeded in
preventing the waves from breaking over
the vessel. He adds, "As the captain over
,nrned no more than small quantity at a
time, The salvation of their ship was due
perhaps, 10 four quarts of olive oil )" and
lie very naturally thought it worthy of
inquiry whether other vessels might not
be aided in a similar way, by similarly
small quantity OF olive oil.
Dr. Franklin took up this subject as he
did many others Of useful character, and
in the best of all ways--by actual expert
ments. ln the year seventeen hundred
and fiIty-savep, being at sea in large fleet
bound for LouIsburg, he observed the wakes
of two Of the ships to be remarkably
smooth, while all the others were ruilled
by fresh blowing wind. The captain on
being appealed to for an assignable cause,
expressed supposiion that The cooks had
been Just emptying their greasy water
through the scuppers, which had creased
the sides OF those two ships a lttle."-
Franklin at first thought that this must be
a mvstfcation--a tale for the marines
but, recolleciing Pliny's statement, he re-
solved, if an opportunity should offer, to
try the experiment for himself in ever so
small way. Some years afterwards, being
at Clapham, he determined 10 make an
oleaginous experiment upon large pond.
On windy day, when the surface OF the
pond was rough, he brought 4 cruet OF oil.
1 and poured a little into the pond; his first
experiment was not very successful, for be
stood on the leeward side Of the pond, and
the wind blew the oil back again upon the
shore; but, upon going 20 the windward
side, he found that even tea-spoonful oi
oil produced an instant calm over space
several yards square, and that, spreading
and spreading by degrees, II reached the
leeward side, covering, probably, half al
acre with film Of oil of exquisite tenuty
Franklin bore the character OF truthful
man aud when he describes this expert
ment with unmiStakable clearness in The
Philosophical Transactions, we must not
reject it merely because it is marvellous -
, He declares that this spoonful of oil mad,
half an acre OF water 'as smooth as a look
ing-g lass" Ponds are not yet banS heC
from England, nor oil, nor cruets, nor tea
spoons; and it would not be very diff
colt matter for curiously disposed persol
to initiate this experiment for himself.
Franklin repeated the experiment sool
: after at Ormathwaite near Leeds, in To
! presence of Smeaton and Jessop, the cele
S brated engineers and, on another occasio
? he determned TO try, somewhere nea
: Portsmouth, whether he could lessen th,
2 surf on lee shore, by means OF oil. ii
selected windy day, which gave the char
acter of lee shore to the spot betwee
: Haslar hospital and Gillkicker point.
D long boat was anchored about quarter o
4: a mile from the shore. A barge piled I,
! windward Of the long boat, as far from he
: as she was from the shore, making trips G
! about half mile each; oil being continual
poure9 from her out of a large stone bottle
: through hole in The cork about as large a
: a goose quill. A party Of Observers place
E themselves on the shore, in a position I
Z. note il any change were produced IN tn
/ surf by the action Of the oil. Franklin dl
q not fnd the effect upon the surf to be $
, great as he expected; but the persons u
/ the long boat could observe a track q
}. smooth water the whole length OF The dis
1 tance on which the oil was poured gradu
: ally spreading in breadth towards the ion
n boat. The water was smooth, but not ae
: tually level. The swell continued ou
a the surface was not ruiled by wrinkles
' smaller waves; and there were none q
/ the waves called by sailors "whiie caps
e lwayes whose tops turn over IN ioam,) al
:. ,bouph there was abundance ofihis kind {
|. wave both to windward and leeward Of ,h
b oily space. A wherry came round lh
a point under sail, 10 her way 10 Portsmouth,
~ A.. tura into The atlv lFafL 4