New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-04-19
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
FACTS ABOUT THE GULF OF MEXICO.

| FOR TWO HOURs-PROFEsSoR ALEXANDER AOAs-
| sZ's ACCOUNT OF THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION
! ON THE BIAKE-IHE SEA AND ITS INHABIrANIs
| NEW METHODS OF SWEEPING THE OCEAN
| FLOOR.
| IFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT THE TRIBUNE1
WASHINGTON, April ia fit of abstraction
seized the of science this morning They quite for
got their audience. Far Within like Mons superior
nendS they sat apart. The doors behind which they
carried on high argument, in corner OF the Smithsonian
Institution, closed and guarded with vigilance
that no Washington dOOrkeper has hitherto attempted
Unusual publicity has somehow been given to the pres
ent meeting aud large crowd more than ball OF ladies'
assembled blocked the passages at that end of tho
building half hour passed. the crowd increased Out
the doors did not open; another half hour, ana the
waiting began to break into conversational
groups and wandered through the corridors OF the ns
tuition Yet another half hour elapsed and the stunned
animals the skeletons casts the mummies, and the
waxngures began to pail upon the appetite. Then
rumor sad and spread through the tired crowd
that the Academclans would lunch before beginning
their public session. Then arose murnur from the
previously patient public One individual, holder than
the rest, sent In note to the gentle secretary telling
him how his cOuntrymen and women found no rest for
their weary soes in the OF seats in the Corridors
and prayed permission to enter the audence-chamDer
while the feasting went on in the document ROOM
To this the scientific gentry assented they Withdrew TO
the music OF knives, forks, and glasses, which came
|
audience in front of it, seated. At precisely two
hours after the appointed time the Academicians wiped
their mouths sailed forth by the wire door, took the
front seats in the audenceroOm, and proceeded 10 en-
| tighten the community.
What had they been doing in the meanwhile Well,
am not quite CERTAIN but believe they succeeded in
electing one new member, the Hon. Francis A. Walker
chief of the judges OF the Centennial EXIT
bIiion As far 1 could learn they did not agree on
| anything else
The meeting was at last opened and Professor Lang
ley briefly called attention to photograph OF the sum-
taken by NJ Jansen. Il curousy illustrates the struc-
ture OF tue solar surface, giving details even smaller
than the so-called willow leaves, and presenting the
graduated appearance when Professor Langley had
been the first TO describe from eyeobseryations Pro-
fc.sor Alexander AgGssz had the floor for the first
essay.
| sOUNDINGs N TIE GULF.
At last years meeting Of the academy, Professor
Agassz said he had prepared the way Tor his present
| subject by discussing Of the work done on the
! Challenger expedition He did not them however, ex-
poet to be- ready the meeting this Spring with an ac
count another expedition. But the United states
Cua-t survey placed at his disposal an opportunity IN
the cruFe OF the steamer Blake. This vessel has passed
over purposes OF sounding and survey distance OF
l,~OO miles in and adjoining the Gult OF Mexico me
work of observation was begun the point where It had
left oil by his predecessors IN deep sea dredging Tor
that rrglon-hs father, Professor Louis Agissz ana
Count Porinlr. They had, indeed run one or two lines
OF dredging across the Gull but IL done with the I'M
results h depths exceeding 500 fathoms, FOR instance,
Count POrtaes found uttc am maj me- and ut that time
had been nearly reached at such depths; The lines SUI
yrycd by The Blake started rom I3I' aC' Osa 10 tJ
! tie Gulf cutIug los reaching NeM-OTgah- ana pas,ii
have been longer had been interrupted by an acci
dent the Blake spanish pilot ran the Hesse ashore
! on the coast OF cuba, near Bana Honda
IMPROVED MODES OF SOUNDING.
Marked improvements have been effected N deep sea
DREDGING aud work OF ike character that much more
can De dour ia gwen time than formerly, aud the re-
suite are moro satisfactory. In sinking the lead 10 great
depths heavy weights required. On the Challenger
fine only mode OF asceraiuiug that the lead touched
bottom was by noticing when the rope ran ont more
slowly than before. This operation was performed WIN
a very heavy rope, such strength beng necessary 10
TO an error oi perhaps 800 iulhoms ~ giving great
depths. II strange tnat tue English dd not use the
Invention ui their couutrymau, Sir william IhonI'
son, s,u W. , c c5ns,sts in substituting piano
wire. Tbis, after running out leaves the siot WIN
/ which u Is weighted, on the bottom Repeated
sounding, with the piano wire on board the
! b lake Indicated that the accuracy attained was
within loo Of l per cent? tho Challenge sound-
ings were only within per cent. Ile IIomsGn
souudug-w.ro was unlayorauy reported upon by The
british commission That had the outnt OF TIE challenger
IA charge. In TINS country II M' laN v'CiNga
and tcd In tue sounding uNpecIon 81 inc lu,cdr3ra'
AID under the skui management OF Commander Bel
Lu.p who added tO ITS u.ctuuo,s by various devices,
met great since It's introduction here the piano
has been altogether used by American hydf"gaph
ti'. L., t'' s't a y, % nnfe as copaTed win
ocean IA. perhaps. sixth Of lost by the old pro
Profe.sor ,lslz showed the dredge as now mod fed
and used the Blake Hitherto the drcdge had nccn
unsatisfactory contriyancr, because ~ edge aug
i'm and kept buryiug IL that matter how long Il |
dragged, tlle else than mud was collected irqnir
might b. included. On tue Blake method was devised
which did the sitting at IA" bottom Instead OF Io 10Y OF
the ocean. rope 80 fastened 10 the drcdEe that
II longer tended To bury itself After this had been
successfully tried further improy cement was made by
substituting Nat nuXfor TIE dredge, with net sides
this smoothly along the bottom without buyIns al
all Taugcs attached behind the dfeDEe winch
were OF grca service. t Is quito astonishing what
uubcr, OF animals may DC casht ny the tdhScs tAcy
even bring up fishes.
ECONOMY IL TIME, ROPE AND IRON.
The trawl was another instrument needing improve
mcnt. tendency to turn over sidewse, aud then
eaten nothing. Sometimes every haul for week at
time on the Challenger would be unsuccessful because Of
these troubles with the tgawl On the Blake such
difficulties were encountered; they used cOnriyance
somewhat like an oyster traw that lad the merit OF
doing It's work equally well whichever side was up. In
the whole OF the Blake expedition there only eight
beginning before they became accustomed To the WORK.
aud the last the fault Of the continuance.
The clumsy apparatus Of the Challenger made its work
costly The total weight Ot dredgc, rope and shOt in
miles depth three tOus, aud OF course the rope
wore rapidly uuder such strain and often parted while
Tne British expedition lost JOoOO iashOhs Oh sucn
rope. The Blake expedition could not AFFORD loss at
similar rate even for IA seasons cruise aud 1t deter
mined do for dredging what had been done Tor sound
mg-to substitute Tor rope with wire, the dredge
served sufficiently AS "clSht. lho the saved 10y USING
wire with the dredgc was as great as WIN
the sounding lead Haus were made In two hours that
would nave consumed eight hours on he old pan ana
i've hauls were made per day instead of one In
three weeks Onesxth much was done as III the three
or four years work OF the Challenger
RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION.
The following observations reported by Professor
Arassiz: Where the depth Is 800 to 1000 fathoms in
side the WnJward Islands, the fauna corresponds to
that OF the Atlantic outside the animals having doubt
| less peuetrated through the openings between the