The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1870-02-23
THE GULF STREAM.
Some New Views COneernInE It-PrO.
fessOr AIaury's Theories,

In New York on Thursday night, Pro-
fessor 7. B. Maury lectured before the
Polytechnic Branch of the American In
sttute, on the Gulf Stream With the aid
OF several large charts and maps, he ira
ced the equatorial current of the Atlantic
from the western coast Of Africa, and
showed how 1t formed the great CONNER
cial highway known as the Gulf Stream.
This current, he claimed, is more than
LOCO times larger in volume than the
Mississippi river 1t moves across the
Atlantic on the track of great circle of
the earth, Combating the prevailing no
| ton that the shores and banks Of New
foundland defect the current from its nat
ural and normal path, evidence was bro't
to show that 1t moved in obedience to the
diurnal rotation OF the globe on the one
hand, and on the other, that, being of q
different SPECIFIC gravity from the waters
OF the Polar sea, 1t seeks to find an euuil-
ibrium by changing places with them.
Two new positions were advanced by
the lecturer as to this mysterious foY OF
the ocean. He denied that the usual cas-
terly curve of the Gulf Stream las the
maps give it, by which it is made to
sweep toward tha Azores and around to
the shores Of Africa, have any existence.
There Is current-an offshoot, apparent
ly-recurring in this direction, but it Is
mere drift. This, he explained, is caused
by the brave west winds" or more prop
erly, southwest winds, which, he said.
everywhere on the globe, north of the
Troplc of Cancer, a-e the same" The true
Gulf Stream, however, flows on in a nigh
ty and resistless course. Even as lar
north as Hammerfest, in Norway, the
most northerly town in the world. it
makes its genial and balmy influence felt.
In 1881 the harbor of st. Johns, New
toundland, 1900 miles south oe Hammer
fest, has been frozen up as late as June
But the harbor of Hammerfest has never
been known to be closed by ice, even in
mid winter
Mr.. Maury advanced the idea also that
the Gulf Stream is much more than its
name purports. 1t is not a mere stream
from the Gulf of Mexico, but a volume
nearly as large as the great equatorial
current itself. Though the stream, as it
comes through the narrows of FLORIDA, is q
of Waters" at New Orleans, it is after
ward reinforced by an immense shaving
of the main equatorial current known as
the Northwest Branch. This body of wa
ter being of the same or nearly the same
temperature and specific gravity as the
Gulf Stream proper, readily unites with
it after the latter has passed the Bahamas.
The lecturer then read letter from Cap
tain Silas Brent (the co worker of Com
modore Perry in his Japan expedition
whom he had consulted on the views he
entertained, and who, in clear and con-
else statement, indorsed his reasoning.
If this be true, the lecturer said, the
views now entertained by geographers Of
the climatic power of the Gulf Stream
must undergo a serious revision, if not a
decided revolution 1t would no longer
be regarded as the comparatively small
issue through the Narrows of Bemini, but
stream more than double as large, and
one which was fully equal to the Office
claimed for it, Of penetrating the re-
gions Of the extreme north, and breaking
through the massive ice Wat4~Whieh sur
round and guard the avenues to tAe- Pole
itself The "blue" color and "phosphores-~
cent" features of the Gulf Stream were
described and explained Prof Maury
compared the Gulf Stream to the Milky
Way, because its warm water at night
was made by the myriad insects to glow
and sparkle like sea of fire.