Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1869-04-08
8Iisabsts 2niIp aiaon lit ::
PUBLISHED AT 155 BROAD STREET. i
j. MADISON DRAKE.

Lieutenant Brooke obtained mud from
the bottom of the North Atlantic, be-
tween newfoundland and the Azores,
at depth of more than $1,000 feet, or
two miles, by the help of his sounding
apparatus. The specimens were sent
for examination to Ehrenberg, of Ber-
lin, and to Bailey, of West Point, and
those able microscopists found that
this deep sea mud was almost entirely
composed of the skeletons of living or
ganism the greater proportion of these
b eing just like the Globigerlna, already
known to occur in the chalk r.
Thus far the work had been carried
on simply in the interests of science,
but Lieut.. Brooke's method of sound
ing acquired a high commercial value
when the enterprise of laying down the
telegraphic cable between Great Britain
and the United States was undertaken
For it became matter of immense i'm
portance to know not only the
depth of the sea over the whole line
along which the cable was to be laid,
but exact nature of the bottom, so as
to guard against chances of cutting or
fraying the strands of that costly rope
The Admiralty consequently ordered
Captain Dayman, an old shipmate of
mine, to ascertain the depth of the
whole line CT the cable, and to bring
back specimens of the bottom. In
former days such command as this
might have sounded very'much like one
of the impossible things which the
young prince in the Fairy Tales is or
dered to do before he can obtain the
hand of the princess. However, in the
months of June and July, 1927, my
friend performed the task assigned to
him with great precision, without, so
far as [ know, having met with any
reward of that kind. The specimens of
Atlantic mud which he procured were
sent to me to be examined and report.
ed upon. aas H#@a ~ g.
The result of these operations is that
we know the contours and nature Of
surface.soil covered by the North At
lantic for distance of 1,700 miles from
east to west, as well as we all know
that of any part of the dry land.
1t is prodigious plain-one of the
widest and most even plains in the
world. If the sea were drained off you
might drive wagon all the way from
Valentia, on the west coast of ireland,
to Trinity Bay, in}Newfoundland. And,
except opon cue sharp incline, about
two hundred miles from Valentia, l am
not quite sure that it would be even
necessary to put the skid on, so gentle
are the ascents and decents on that long
route. From Valentia the road would
lie down hill for about 300 miles to the
point at which the bottom is now COW
cred by 1,700 fathoms of sea- water.
Then would come the central plain,
more than 1000 miles wide, the inc
qualities of the surface of which would
be hardly perceptible, though the
depth of the water upon it varies from
10000 to $4,000 feet : and there are
places in which Mount Blanc might be
sunk without showing its peak above
water. Beyond this, the ascent on the
American side commences and gradually
leads, for about 800 miles, to the New
foundland shore.
Almost the whole bottom of this cen
trail plain { which extends for many
hundred miles in north and south di-
rection is covered by fine mud,
which, when brought to the surface,
dries into grayish white friable sub
stance. You can write with this on
black board, if you are so inclined, and
to the eye it is quite like very soft gray
ish chalk. Examined chemically, it
proved to be composed almost wholly
of carbonate of lime ; and if you make
a section of it in the same way as that
of a piece of chalk was made, and view
it with microscope, it presents in
Vulnerable Globlgerine embedded in
the granular matrix. Thus the deep sea
mud is substantially chalk. Prof Hulk
ley. sF-sHssase s4
How TO BE HAPPY. An anxious, rest
less temper, that runs to meet care on
its wav. that regrets lost opportunities