The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-03-02
Ocean Splendors.

When the sea is perfectly clear and
transparent, It allows the eye 10 disiin-
guish objects at very great depth. Near
Mindora, in the Indian Ocean, the spotted
corals are plainly visible under twenty.
five fathoms of water. The crystalline
clearneSs of the Caribbean sea excited the
admiration of Columbus, who, in the pur-
suit Of his great discoveries, ever retained
an open eye for the beauties Of nature.
I'm passing over these splcndidly adorned
grounds" says Schopf "where marine
life shows itself in an endless variety of
forms, the boat, suspended over the purest
crystal, seems to float in the air, so that q
person unaccustomed to the scene easily
becomes giddy. On the clear sandy bot
tom appears thousands of sea stars, sea
urchins, -molusses and fishes of brillian.
cy Of color unknown in our temperate
seas. Burning red, intense blue, lively
green, and golden yellow perpetualIy vary;
the spectator floats over graves of sea
plants, gorgonias, cOrals, aleyoniums, fla.
belluIns and spOngcs, that afford no less
delight to the eyes, and are no less gent.
ly agitatcd by the heaving waters, than
the most beautiful garden on Garth when
agentic breeze passes throuS the. waving
bOughs. Mr.. Charles Darwin paints in
vivid colors the magnificent spectacle pre-.
sentcd by the sea, while smiling in the
attitudes Of Cape Horn on q very dark
night. There was fresh breeze, and ev-
cry part of the surface which during the
day is seen as foam now glowed with
palo light. The vessel drove before her
bows two pillows Of liquid phosphorus,
and in her wake she was followed by q
milky train. AS far as the eye reached
the crest of every wave was bright, and
the sky above the horizon, from tho re.
fcctcd glare Of these livid flames, was not
so utterly obscure ns over the rest Of the
heavens While La Venus was at anchor
before Simon's Town the breaking of the
waves produced 80 strong light that the
room in which the naturalist Of the ex
petition were seated was illuminated as
by sudden flashes Of lightning. Although
more than fifty PAGES from the beach
where the phenomenon took place thcv
tried to read by this wondrouS oceanic
light, but the successive glimpscs were
of too short duration to crafty their
wishes.
Thus we see the same nocturnal splcn-
dor which shines forth in tho tropical
seas, and CLEANS along our shores, burst
forth from the Arctic waters, and from
the waves that bnthe the southern pro-
mOntories Of the old and new world. But
what is the cause Of the beautiful phe-
nomenOn widely spread over the face Of
the ocean? How comes it that, at Ger.
tain times, flames issue from the bosom oI
an element generally SO hostile to their
appcarances Without troubling the reader
with the groundlcss surlnises Of ancient
naturalists, or repeating the useless tales
Of the past, shall at once place myself
with him on the stage Of our actual knOwl
edge Of this interesting and mysterious
subject. It is now no longer matter ol
doubt that almost all inferior marine ami.
mails, particularly the jelly fishes, many
moluSscs, Nnnelidcs, cryStaccans and in
fusoria, possesses the faculty of emitting
n phOsphoric light and adding their mite
to the grand phenomenon. When vi
consider their countless multitudcs, WI
shall no longer wonder at such magnifi
cent effects being produced by creature.
individually so insignificant. In our seat
It is chiefly q minute gclatinous animal
the mammaria scintillans. which as il
were, repeats the splendid spectacle O
the starry heavens on the surface of the
ocean. On filing . vessel with the lu
minous water, the small nammarir, abou
the size of pins head, may by daylight
bo seen floating at the top. For tn,
most transparent as crystal, they only il
one spot exhibit q milky opacity. Under
the microscope they plainly appear al
globuIar animals, with all indentation
corresponding to the dull spot on the sur
face, from which 3 tolerably long tentacl,
proceeds, moving slowly about in quesl
Of food. Il can easily be proved that thu
phenomenon proceeds from tho animals
for on straining the ph0sphOrcscent water
it entirely lost its luminous property
while the mammsria remaining on th'
filter, shine on being moved, the intensity
Of the light being always In proportion t
their number. And finally, on gently
shaking Ia the dark bottle Of sea-wate
containing some Of these animals, small
luminous bodies are seen to fall and rise
in the same manner a. mamnarias wheT
similarly agitsted du,ing the day time
sink in the liquid, and then again ascend
to the surface. Hdrtsoig.
sS%SS