Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-07-18
Scientific.

The DEAD SEA OF AMERICA.-There
are no fishes in the Great Salt Lake. The
only living thing beneath it's surface is
worm about a quarter of an inch long.
This worm shows up beautifully under
the lens of a microscope. When storm
arises they are driven ashore by thou
sands, and are devoured by the black
gulls. We found pure stream pouring
into the lake; it was filled with clubs
and sinners The fish became frighten-
ed, and were driven down the brook into
the briny lake. The instant they touch
ed its waters they came to the surface,
belly upward, and died without a gasp
The water is remarkably buoyant. Eggs
and potatoes float on it like corks. Mr..
Hood and myself stripped and went in
swimming [ dived into the lake from
a long pier, which had been built for
the use of small steamboat that had
formerly piled upon the waters. The
sensation was novel The water was so
salty that my eyes and ears began to
smart, but SO buoyant that [ found no
difficulty in floating, even when the air
was exhausted in my lungs. AS struck
out for the beach [ felt as light as a
feather In spite of all [ could do my
head would fly out of the water. The
lightness Of the water and surging of the
waves forced my feet from under me-
A person who could not swim might be
easily drowned in five feet of water.
His head would go down like lump of
lead, while his feet would fly up like a
pair of ducks. The water is as clear as
Seneca Lake-so clear that the bottom
could be seen at a depth of twenty feet.
When we reached the shore and crawled
out upon the sand in the light of the
sun, our bodies were thickly covered
with salt. We were compelled to go to
the small stream from which we had
driven the clubs and sinners, and wash
off in fresh water before we could put
on our clothes. Our hair was filled with
grains of salt that could not be washed
out The Mormons occasionally visit
the lake in droves, for the purpose of
bathing. Many say their health is i'm
proved by leaving the salt on their bod
les and dressing without wiping them
selves.-7'he Semi Tropical
WONDERS OF THE SEA.-Who can tell
Of all the wondrous things that live in
the sea? In the Indian Ocean, many
feet below the surface of the water, grow
woods quite as luxuriant as any jungles
or thickets we read of in South Amer
lea. Some Of the trees grow as high as
two houses piled on one another. They
are called by q hard NAME nerocy-
STEM" The roots resemble coral, and
from the slender stem grows cluster of
very long leaves. Other trees grow al
most as high, and end in one single huge
leaf that is about the size of our forest
trees. Bushes green, yellow, and red
are dotted here and there; and vel
vety carpet Of diminutive plants covers
the ground. Flowers in all the tints of
the rainbow ornament the rocks, and
large leaves Of the iris, of dazzling pink
and red, float among them; and sea-
anemones, as large and brilliant as cac-
tus flowers, form beds in the moss; blue,
red, purple and green little fish dart
here and there; and between the bushes
glide, like a serpent, the long, silvery
fish.
Thus beautiful it is in the day; but
when night comes on, and you suppose
all creatures gone to bed, the landscape
grows more lovely still Little crabs and
medusas light up the sea; the sea-pen
quivers with green, phosphoric light;
what was brown and red in the day is
changed into bright green, yellow and
red, and amongst all these glittering
jewels the moonish fish floats like sill
very crescent.
LIGHT AND LIFE.-The English Regis
trar-General, remarking on observations
at the Greenwich Observatory, with ref
erence to climate and sunshine, says:
Man, as it has been we'll said, is an at
mospherical creature. The child, the
man, the woman, the veteran in ripe
age, the healthy and the sickly, all feel
these influences in different degrees.
The deaths go up in the heats of sum-
mer, or in the chill colds of winters and
go down in the mild weather. Hence,
for many years, the London weekly
tables have shown by the side of the