The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1875-07-21

lenCor, Professor Thomson has succeeded
in making a very large and valuable col
lection Of specimens Of fauna and vogeta
be life-f6and st depths ranging from Il
70 5000 fa,homS \ thousand fashom.
I'VE may here remind some Of our terru
rirraa uoaiers) is one nautical mile; from
which fact the general depth Of the sound
ingS SC, may be pretty accurately sur
missed. The greatest depth reached. and
satisfactorily examined, was SS7S faihoms
more than threo miles and hale This
depth wSs reached little to the north Of
the Virgin islands, in the West Indies.
They found animal life st that depth,
aud au the way down to that depth.
The average depth Of the soundiugs and
other examinations, taken and made, was
shout $500 fathoms The instruments for
dredging snd sounding, sc, are very en-.
riouSly suggestive. There is beautiful
little donkey engine on the quarterback
Gust at the fOpe-bridge,l by which dredg-
ing lines, &c, are lowered into the deep
and drawn up agsin.
Amongst the appliances are the follow
ings-A rope in thuee coils. six miles
long; dredging frame Of iron, six feet
long by one in width, having net, Swabs,
and kuite-eige thereto attached; sound
ing rois Of s complex selfsctiug charac-
ter; deep-SeA water bottles oGbrass; deep
Sea Thermometers, in metal cases, carefully
constructed 50 rs to reSist any lateral
pressure; harpoons snd firearms for large
tiSh and tor binds: tin boxes for holding
specimens; strong glass tubes, several
feet in length, for preserving sea suaks,
&c: traps. cages, boxes, and bottles,
The deep-Sea bo'tjsS are wholly formed Of
brasS very ingeniously contrived and
carefully made. They have valves open
ing At both ends, 50 constructed SIS to close
up instantly when the lower end of the
touches the bottom of the sea
The sounding rod has, at its lower end,
s hollow cone terminating in point, cal
culAted to force its way down into the
wstsry cone, and 80 bring up shut into
the cone BY the motion Of the ascent
samples Of the sand or mud lying at the
bottom ofthe sea. The Thermometers are
le; down by the donkey engine Qike the
deep-Sea bottles and sounding rods,) and
their movements are all faithfully regis-
tered for the obSeryant sIrdHt, on the
deck Of the Challenger, through the action
Of 5 galvanic wire BY this means exact
IS transmitted IS to the vari-
ous degrees Of heat 81 different depths.
The lateral pressure Of the water st any
great depth Is something enormous; in
proof Of which the visitor Is shown 4 deep
sea water bottle and s strong cylindrical
.hermometer-csse 50 foreibly crushed in At
the sides . TO be rendered utterly useless.
The glass OF the thermometer that was in
i when 50 injured was smashed TO powder.
Besides the considerations suggested by
the aforementioned apparatus, the viSi-
tor to the Challenger finds much food for
thought in the laboratory. where DR.. Bu-
,hznaa snalyIeS the water drawn out Of
the ocean depths Small IS Is this seien-
tits workshop. It IS supplied with every
appliance for use; many Of these appliau-
X having been obviously made by the
snalyEer as they were wanted In the af-
.sr part Of the quarterback above there Is
taGdermist's shop. The apparatus for
.hrOwing the trawL &c, seems to be usu-
lily kept on the platform near the donkey
aHgine- There are many other scientific
appliances, such IS the '-accumulator,-
&c; bit Whist has been already mentioned
vii doubtless Be deemed sufficient.
In the neatly fitted boxes with stop
,ered bottles, aIl carefully labeled, the
.leysr little cieerone adYerted TO shows the
-isitOr many Of the principal things which I
ave been discovered and preserved. All
hese-ohiehy the living things of the
eean deptb<-ars new TO the eve Of sci
nee; for It must Be remembered the fau-
= Of the sea almost everywhere-and e.
.ecizIly in this Part Of the worlds, sitter
he first 20 fstboms, wholly unknown. I
)ne peculiarly observed BIZ the learned 4
Professor Thomson Is remarkably inter 4
sting; and that Is, tbzt ! great number
I the deeP-ses suinaIs IN the OCEAN depths
{ the south are Identical with the fauna
0und IN the deep waters Of the northern 7.
The lover waters of the
'ozthern Oeeza al r1n, 1t seems, toward
ae north, and this under curreut-through
Re sctiou Of the suns rays on the surface
{ the Ooean-is constantly going on.
he Professor found animal life in deep
> soundings, Er away IN the cold dzrk
-ztsrs within the Antsrctic Circle. In
esi, some Of the Hehest hsuls taken dur
g the whole vOFsge were got OF the
Dung and Macdonald Islands, 900 miles
nth Of Kergueleu's Lznd More utterly
Isolate spots than Young Island and
: Eozsn neighbors, Macdonald Island