Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-08-13
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IHE TYPOGRAPHY OF THE SEA.-lieutenant
Maury has made many contributions tn sri
ence, which will cause his name tn he 70.
membered for years to come. In his work
"Ihe Geography of the Sea" he states facts
OF great interest, and draws deductions of the
most far reaching consequence, He states
that the deepest place in the sea is supnosed
to be between the parallels of IS deg. and 40
deg, of north latitude, Immediately to the
south of Grand Banks. Soundings have re-
yeaed that the ocean has not so great depth
as 1t was once supposed to have. The greatest
depths which have been reached are twenty
hve thousand feet, or four miles and thee
quarters AS regards the sadness of the sea,
1t Is SAID that taking the average depth of the
ocean at two miles, and its average saline
strength at three and half per cent, it's salt
would cover to the thickness of one mile. an
area OF seven millions of square miles, all of
which passes into the interstices of sea water
without increasing its bulk.
The rivers Of the Southern Hemisnbere arc
supplied with their waters by the Northeast
trade winds bnt as the evaporatipe surface
that is, the area of sea over which thew
blow-contains between the parallels of
and 70 degrees North, only twenty-five mil
mons OF square miles, while the evaporating
surface in the Southern Hemisphere. is seven
ty-hve millions, the quantity of rain which
falls in the latter, is comparatively small
The mean annual fall of rain. which is evan
GRATED principally from the seas of the Torrid
Zone, is estimated at about five feet. If we
suppose it all to come from that zone. it
would be equivalent to the waters of a lake
twenty-four thousand miles long, three thou
sand miles broad, and sixteen feet deep and
TINS water is annually raised up INTO the sky,
and brought down again by the exquisite
though complex machinery of the atmosphere
(which never wears out nor breaks down.
nor fails to do its work at the right time, and
in the right way
Under the head of Drift Currents, Lieuten-
ant Maury describes a commotion in the wa
ter, called Glide Rips" revealing a conflict
of tides or currents. They are generally
found near the equatorial Gains, starting IN
without any wind, and moving along at the
rate OF sixty miles an hour with roaring
noise, "as if they would dash over the frail
bark, helplessly tapping its sails against the
masts' 10 other unexplained movements of
the sea, the names of Bores and Raores has
been given. The Bores of India. of the Bav
of Funday, and of the Amazon, are the most
remarkable. They are tremendous tidal
waves, which roll in periodically from the sea,
engulhng deer, horses, and many other
| wild beasts that frequent every part of
the beach. The name Eagre is given to the
Bore of Tsen Tang river. 1t attains its great
est magnitude opposite to the city of Hang
chau, one of the busiest in Asia and when
it appears, it is announced with loud shouts
from the sailors, drowned in its noise of thun-
der. All work comes to a stand. A wall
like one of chalk, or rather a cataract, 4 or 5
mills across and 80 feet high, advances with
velocity Of 20 miles an hour. 1t passes up
the river in an instant with diminishing We
loeity, occasionally reaching point 80 miles
from the city. The rise and fall of the wave
is sometimes 40 feet ut Hang-chau, and it is
| supposed to be produced by peculiar eonfig-
uration of the river and its estuary.
| Recent events have given new interest to
every thing that relates to the sea ; and to
those persons who wish to peruse work of
rare merit on the subject, we commend the
volume of Lieut.. Maury. The principal for
eign reviews have made it the basis of elabo-
rate essays, and the fame of the author has
extended 60 all parts of the civilized world.
lie has brought new honors upon his coml-
try, and gained name among the most noted
men of the times, -BOston Transcript.