Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-12-14
Underneath the Ocean.

-sssz.ssass - - SessAAe
rroi. A. p. Yerrill, of Yale COLLAGE
TlScently, delivered a lecture in New YorI
Ivy, telilng of the wonderful country
ynS beneath the depths of the sea. "a.
Seclaily that lying beneath the Chit
osream. He said he had made 900
CSoservatlons this summer for the United
States Fish Commissioners. He had
Glulsed from Labrador to Chesape Ike
Day ana about two hundred miles out to
sea; About sixty miles outside of Nan
IueAet Is o streak of very cold water. and
animals dredged up are like those CAUGHT
~ s Sit waters OF Greenland, Spitzbergen.
Ut oioeria The water is fifty fathouS
oeep, and the bed of the ocean is OF
cray. powders weighing eight hundred
VI I,yoV pounds are dredged up. Prof.
serrli believes that they are brought
oown oy Ieebergs from the arctic re-
ions ana dropped when the ice melts.
= ne powders are found as far south as
ensy TO one hundred and twenty miles
south from the southeastern coast of
New England, the bottom of the sea
which has inclined very gradually east,
ward, forming table land, takes n sud-
den dip downward, so that whereas the
water on the edge of the bluff is one
hundred fathoms deep, at the bottom of
the basin it is 1000 fathoms deep. The
slope IS as high and as steep as
mount Washington, and on its summit,
which Is level, diver, could he 90 to 40
low depth, could not put out his hand
without touching living creature. The
oottom OF the sea is covered Just there
with fauna which has never been be-
tore found outside of the Mediterranean
pea, the Cult OF Mexico, the Indies, or
other tropical regions The number of
species OF fish dredged up is eight hun
dred, and over half ofthem have never
pe1ore been seen by naturalists. Seventy
KINDS OF fish, ninety of crustacea, and
two hundred and seventy mollusks have
been added to our fauna. The age of
many OF the specimens shows that thew
must be permanent in that region. The
trowel let down from the ships bv a
mile of rope brings up ton of living
and dead crabs, shrimp, star fish, and
as the trowel simply scrapes over a small
surface, the1 ocean bed is plainly car
peted with creatures.
Sharks are seen by thousands in this
region, and countless dolphins, but it
seems strange that not a fish bone is
ever dredged up. A piece of wood may
be dredged up once year, but it is
honeycombed by the boring shell fish.
This shows what destruction is con-
stantly going on in those depths. If a
ship sinks at sea with all on board it
would be eaten up by fish with the ex-
ception of the metal, and that would
corrode and disappear. Not bone of
a human body would remain after few
days. 1t is, constant display of the
law of the survival of the fittest. Moth.
ing made by the hand of man was
dredged up after cruising for months in
the track of ocean vessels excepting coal
clinkers showed overheard from steam
ships. Here Prof. Verrill corrected
himself. Twenty-Five miles from land
he dredged up an India rubber doll.
That, he said, was one thing the fish
could not eat.
Here the Gulf Stream is forty miles
further west than any map shows. Prof.
Verrill continued; and this stream of
warm water from the south nourishes
the tropical life near Massachusetts,.
The temperature further in shore is
thirty-five deg. in August, on the edge
of the submarine Mount Washington
fifty-two deg, and toward the bottom of
the basin thirty-nine deg, while further
out to sea the'temperature of the water
grows colder. On the surface the Jelly
fish, nautilus, and the Portuguese man.
of-war, with other tropical fish are
found. In this belt the tile fish, about
which so much was said a year ago,
were found in immense quantities, but
this summer, although expeditions
have been made for the express pur-
pose of catching some, not one could be
taken. Undoubtedly they had been
killed, to a fish, by a storm which car
ried the cold water into the Gulf Stream;
indeed, it is known that a cold current
of water resting on the oceans bed may
contain arctic fish, and a current of
warm water floating over it on the sur
face may be alive with tropical fish.
As to the quantity of light at the bot
tom of the sea there has been much dis
pute. Animals dredged from below
seven hundred fathoms either have no
ewes, or faint indications of them, or
else their eyes are very large and pro-
truding. Crabs eyes are four or hve
times as large as those of a crab from
surface water, which shows that that
light is feeble, and that eyes to DE OF
any use must be very large and sensl-
tive. Another strange thing Is that
where the creatures in those lower
or red. or reddish orange. Sea ane-
mones, corals, shrimp, and crabs have
this brilliant color. Sometimes 1t IS
pure red or scarlet, and in many speci-
mems it inclines toward purple. Not s.
green or blue fish is found. The orange
red is the fish's protection, for, the
bluish-green light in the bottom OF the
ocean makes the orange or red fish APP
,,oor of a Montreal tint and hides it from
enemies. Many animals are black,
others neutral in color. Some fish are
provided with boring tails, SO that they
can burrow in the mud. Finally, the
surface of the submarine mountain Is
covered with shells, like an ordinary sea
beach, showing that 1t Is the eaIlng
house of vast schools of carnivorous
animals. A Goldfish takes q whole oyster
into its mouth, cracks the shells, digests
the meat, and splits out the rest. Grabs
crack the shells and suck out the meat.