The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1856-11-07


FRIDAY MOANING. NOv. !. 1860.
The ocean and the Telegraph,
American genius neversleeps. II goes
hand in hand with progress, and progress 10
xYitten in every line and lineament of our
domestic end National history. Every morn
iae ops eyes open to the same world, but TO
new snd novel combinations of the elements
within il Immediately around Us, making one
ssep farther in our progress, Wa'ehini
Eager and ambitious, the genius OF our eoun-
,rsmen Is as restless as their habile. II ~
o,ioinst;np and creating, discovering and IN.
venting, con6ning itself 10 no sphere OF
Ass Of iayeeligs,ion, but alike at home IN
mstters OF momentous magnitude, as IN
wores Of ,riaing import. We ale almost |
daily as;onisbed atsome novelty OF invention |
10 save labor or to administer 10 comfort ana |
pleasure. The increasing artificial vans
of man ~ he rises in civilization, are spar |
10 Invention. The very wo-ks OF genius |
themselves illustrating what man may DO, |
and frequently bringing in Their train Fich
pecuniary rewards. offer incentives Tor s'ial
further creations But there are higher mo- /
tiyes than mere recuniaIE consiaeFstions
scluating many American minds A love
of science. and an ardent desire to develop |
its yet hidden mysteries, and iaihom the yer, |
extent of its capabilities for doing mans |
work, is now as shtpiis light IN many an
intellect, eliminating its inmosl depths OF
research.
American genius, in its agency, has Just /
ushered into the world two great praeaeai |
egsnts---ihe sounding 81 the ocean, and Inc |
determination eli the faei thai the ocean can /
he teleeraphei across. 10 ireisnd The
ocean has until lately been a great mystery |
ltaversed for sge,. and IL aariaea the home
of nayies and peoples, yet "a hin HafaIhom'
able depths we're buried all beneath isut
through the senius Of our eennugmen these
aepths have become fafloasai(s ileuienant
Brooke was the frat Il solve problem that
had for sses bafiled The ingenuity q man.
and by the ISOLATION Al which veaTa nov en-
ahled not only TO measure the depth 81 the |
ocean. but 10 ascertain The character and
contour ri lis bottom. with almpet = much |
accuracy az as VIZ ian measare The surface 1
Of the earth
Our officers have now Tor several years
been resolving the mystery OF The ocean,
and in time, strange as il may SEEM We
shall know not only The depths, bu, tie
whole conte ats, contour, and even history
of that strange and heretofore hidden
world. With the soundings Of depths is
Obtained also specimens of the sell and
plants at the DO, ON of tie sea, so that we
shall have a marine geography OF the md
den and curious world which lies beneath
the depths OF many waters. For long
while the ocean was believed to be fathom-
less. But in fact that idea is unressonab e,
for WHY should the surface Of the earth be-
meath The water be deeper than the noun
tsins are above them On any other sup
position this globe must be supposed all
waters, and the land only floating islands
on its surface In fact, however, the sur
face of the bottom of tie ocean is Ike thar
Of the land above il, diversified with hills
and wales, sometimes descending to great
depths, Blu, generally is great plains Of some
mile or two below the surface, About o..
900 or 900 feet is the depth Of the great.
est part OF the ocean bottom. Some grea,
valleys are SIX or seven miles in depth
So much for ocean fathoming. Ia con-
nection with tits subject, experiments have
been in process to determine whether in
the distance 10 be traverssd, two thousand
miles, TO unite the two continents by tele-
graph communication, such telegraph could
be made TO operate quickly and probably.
i, had been observed by FarGdsy and 9th
ers, thst electricity in submarine telegraphs
was retarded, so il was doubtful whether
that distance could be accomplished. Boz
Prof. Morse has solved the problem. He
has been experimenting in London. 10 8
late letter he says:
The admirable arrangements made al the
Magnetic Telegraph Office 10 Old Broad |
street for connecting ten sub,erFanean gut |
IA percha insulated conductors 81 over Two
hundred miles each, So as 10 give one Con-
tinuous length Of more Than 1000 miis :,
during the hours OF the night when the tel
eprsph is not commercially employed. fur
nished Us the means oil eOneiusHely SET
Ting, by actual experiment, the question Q
practicahility as well IS the pracuca'ny Q.
telegraph, through oar proposed Allan
tic cable.
Although ! { leiagta pied aighsls al IN
rate of 2i0.247, and, according 10 The eoaht
a. one time, even OF 40 per minute, uPoi
my tel graphic register, which speed you
wi perceive IS at a rate commercially I'd
santageouso these results we're accomplish
ed Notwithstanding many disadvantages ~
our arrangements, OF temporary and local
character--dsadyantag that will not &C.
cur in the use Of our submarine cable
Az contemporary remarks, there is due
10 America two OF The most practical and
valuable advances made in scientific knOHl.
edge. They will red ound greatly 70 ou'
credit. They wlll accomplish too 5 'me OF
the most useful ends in commercial busi.
ness-ihe better knowledge Of The ocean
and the more rapid transmission Of niell-
gence.
Its such things as these which indicate
the rapid advance OF our country in inter-
lectusl growth and strength, and which
must soon give il a superiority among the
nations.