Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-01-27
Our Boston Letter.

nd Our Boston Letter.
Try Boston, Jan. "a, 1870.
Editor Rutland Herald In one of m
to letters spoke of our Lowell Institut
Id and something about its past lecturer
EN- The lectures this season have been upo
the subjects of Moral Philosophy, Histor
ra- of Civilization, Geology by Mr.. Niles, an
ny Deep Sea Dredgings by Prot. Agassi;
h. The latter relating to geology. Pardo
or me, if /, at some length, give some of th
n important facts introduced and made us
of in. the lectures of the last named
a0 as the facts are new and the subject is, a
~ the present time, attracting attention il
- Europe.
= The past few years of very active re
N search and observation, by geological and
other observers, upon the land, has at las
resulted in their extending their observa
: lions to the deep seas, whose bottoms are
! now dredged by new and improved
- means, for whatever they can yield in the
v interest of science, of vegetable and ami.
. NAL life, of fossil remains and mineral
- substances These observations, which
, are now known in science, as "Deep Sea
! Dredgings," first originated in this
country, when, about three years since,
at the suggestion of Prof. Agassiz to the
: Chief of the coast survey and the gov
eminent, they were incorporated with the
other duties of the survey. The English
and other foreign governments, have or
gained these expeditions since then, in
the interests of science.
1t seems strange that the deep places of
the oceans have been so long passed over
without deliberate attempt to search
them. The old means for sounding the
seas were good enough for navigation, as
depths alone were thought Of But for
scientific purposes the "tallowed" lead has
revealed but little, for only minute sub
stances could adhere to it and be brought
to the surface; and because nothing very
large ever appeared, men have been be.
trayed into the belief that there was little
of animal life in great depths of water.
For these dredging Operations, a
SCOOP of cylindrical shape, about three
feet long, by one in diameter, open at one
end, covered with gauze and sail-oloth for
strength, is dragged along on the bottom
OF the ocean by lines of great length oper-
ated by steam power windlasses. Very
great interest isnow being taken by natu-
ralIsts In these operations, as the results
already made known, are so fresh and un-
expectedly new as to threaten to overturn, 7
at least correct, many of the theories and .
speculations now current relating to the j.,
animal and vegetable life of former geo. .
logical periods, as well as the present.
1t will be seen that whether minerals
fossil remains, or vegetable or animal life :,
be brought to the surface from hitherto .
depths of the oceans, that the +,
study of their character or the circum-
stances of the place of their discovery,
will, for their proper classification, at on ce .
introduce us into the depths of Geologi- }
cal science, which includes among others, q
that of Paleontology or science of ami u
nal fossils, Natural History and Botany, :,
which are all so involved in that of the =.
irst, that they mutually illustrate each At
,ther.
The observations of the United States
COAST Survey in this new field have been,
necessarily limited to the waters of the Is
cast of Florida. But the results off the IL
observations of foreign expeditions in A'
Haay,ar
'noA "nu ueePe' seas nave oeeh 10 some on
xtent published, which coincide with ev
hose of the former, in revealing animal hi
re in unexpected depths, in great guam Pa
ties; in discovering great numbers of ~
pecies in new places, and i'll the discovery w
species hitherto supposed to be extinct, fn
nd only known by fossils of the Tertiary asl
nd Cretaceous periods in Geology We
The question is here suggested, what a.
9lation or effect has the greater aud great hv
st depths of water upon the animal life
herein contained, that should make it ba
'semble or make it parallel in form to or
lat revealed by the fossils of less or more iei
'mote geological ages !? ",
1t has long been known that the lower aw
Id of Florida is coral formation she
redging shows that those corals are still the
rming. The Cult stream il about
venty miles wide at it's narrowest point, a.
'tween Florida and Cuba The bottom yer
opes from the Keys gradually down to shr
% fathoms, and then suddenly drops bus
,wn to 500 f.tbo,ns ,s :, o a. mu
80 VIC his
'''eS7 Slopes OF the hay
orida side, at the depths of from go to a b,
U fathoms appears the most animal life, of
d of most novel forms all different from ate'
Q shallow water lifo ~ +h;, - | h,
:, 'on vi "W
t resemble living species SO much as ref
ose of the Tertiary and Crctaceous bas,
RODS in Geology. acc,
1t is proved by these revelations that III
.o1s forr, -, ;. -. pro,
"a. '"A'' 'on''i'oel1 III able
litic limestones ... oh..
AS these corals become detached from has
9ir rocky beds they are moved about and you
'und into atoms, which, upon floating WIS.,
% water containing lime, gather the nc
io :" oo"'S' "f cohoei''rlc rings upon attel
lr surface to the extent that they sink wan
l become aggregated together and be- 1t
ne massed into rock, the popularity of WINE
ieb ia. that ;.s .,rai,,s hou;i paid
>, IT. 'p'o' i'"' III and
W ''''Se wa'er'' Is seen this huns
k III all stages of its com position. met
ne Of the grains are If the size of a ar he
, and, when cut and uagnitied, show heVe
the appearances of volitic limestone. of ~
ich mountain chains are known to he ..I
ne In Asia, aud the Jurassic i'll Eu- "a
e, which cover Is degrees of latitude. "N
re 1t is shown at once how geology is K
strated by those observations. II
hese dredging operations of the United hsaL I
les coast survey have been confined "a
liz IL l. -