Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1857-09-18
MARvELs OF CREATION.

The mariner who first crossed the CEN
trail Atlantic in search of new world,
was astoniShed when, on the 10Th of
September, 1892, he found himself in |
the midst of that great bank of seaweed
the seaweed meadow Oviedo-the Sa- |
rogossa Sea, which, with a varying
breadth of 100 to 500 miles, stretches
over twenty-five degrees of latitude, COW
ering 100000 square miles of surface,
like a huge floating garden, in which
countless myriads of minute animals find
food and shelter. Now, it is the eddy of
the numerous sea rivers which collect in
one spot; and the cold water Of the
Northern Atlantic mixing with the warm
streams of the western and southern cur
rents, which produce the temperature
most fitted TO promote this amazing de-
velopment Of vegetable and animal life.
What becomes of the dead remains of
this vast marine growth! (! DO they de-
compose as fast as they are produced p
or do they accumulate into deposits of
particular coal, destined to reward the
researches of future geologists and en-
gineers, when the Atlantic of our day
has become the habitable land Of an after
time?
In the chart of the Pacific Ocean, we
are presented with another remarkable
instance of the influence of sea-rivers on
vegetation. From the shores of South
| Victoria, on the Antarctic continent, a
stream of cold water, 60 degrees in
width (our readers will recollect that in
high latitudes the degrees of longitude
are very narrow,) drifts slowly along ii
a northeast and easterly direction acros:
the Southern Pacific, till it impinges up
on the South American coast to the south
of Valparaiso. There it divides into two
arms one of which stretches south anC
east, doubles Cape Horn, and penetrate.
into the Southwestern Atlantic the 9th.
er flows first northeast and then north
west, along the shores Of Chill and Peru
carrying colder waters into the warm sea
and producing a colder air along the low
plains which stretch from the shores o
the Pacific to the base of the Andes
This current, discovered by Humboldt
and called after his name, lowers the TEN
perature of the air about twelve degrees
while that of the water itself is some
times as much as twenty-four degrees
colder than that of the still waters of tht
ocean through which it runs.
The cold air seriously affects the vege
tation along the whole Of the coast a
the same time that the cold stream raise
fogs and mists. which not only concea
the shores and perplex the navigator
but extend inland also, and material
modify the climate. The beautiful an
benefcent character of this modifyin
, influence becomes not only apparent bu
most impressive, when we consider, a
: the rain map Of the world shows US, tina
on the coast of Peru no rain ever falls
"A
and that, like the desert of Sahara,
ought therefore to be condemned to pen
petual barrenness. But in consequence
=, of the cold stream thus running along il
borders, the atmosphere loses its transpa
rency. and the sun is obscured formonth
together.
The vapors at Lima are often so thic
1 that the sun seen through them with th
t naked eye assumes the appearance Of ii
moons disc. They commence in IL
1t morning and extend over the plains
the form of refreshing fogs, which disa
u pear soon after midday and are follow
" ed by heavy dews, which are precipitat'
" during the night. The morning mis-
and the evening dews thus supply Il
. place of the absent rain and the We
i9 dure which covers the plains is the oi
spring of a sea river.