, 1882-12-22
The Bottom of the Atlantic.

bia college, says the New York ,Sun,
Prof. A. e, Ncrril, OF Yale college,
describes the physical and geological
character Of our coast, especially that
which lies beneath the gulf stream.
He has made 1909 observations this
summer for the L. S. Fish Comnis-
sion. He has cruiscd from Labrador
to Chesapeake bay and about 200
miles ont to sea. About 60 miles
outside Of Nantucket is streak of
very cold water, and animals dredged
ND arc like those caught in the wa
ter5 OF Greenland, Spitzberoen, or
Siberia. The water is 50 fathoms
deep and the bed Of the ocean is of
clay. Boulders weighing 500 or 1000
pounds are dredged up. Prof Vo.
rill believes they are brought down
by icebergs from the arctic regions
and dropped when the leo moIts.
The boulders are found as far south
as Long Island, Further ont to sea.
70 to l20 miles from the southeas e.n
coast of New England, the bottom of
the sea, which has inclined vcry
gradually eastward, forming a table
land, takes a sudden dip downward,
50 that whereas the water on the
edge Of the bluff is LOO fathoms deep,
at the bottom Cf 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, a
diver, could he go to so low depth,
could not put ont his hand without
touching a living creature, The bot
tom Of the sea is covered just there
with fauna which has never before
been found outside Of the Mediterra-
mean, the Gulf Of 1lexico, the midas,
or other tropical regions. The mum
Der Of species Of fish dredged up is
800, and over half Of them have new
er before been seen by naturalists.
Seventy kinds Of fish, ninety Of crus-
tacea, and 20 mollusks have been
added to our fauna. The age of
many of the specimens shows that
they must be permanent in that re-
gion. The trowel let down from the
ship by milo OF rope brings up a
ton of living and dead crabs, ,shrimps,
star-tish, and rs the trowel simply
scrapes over u small surface, the
ocean bed is plainly carpeted with
creatures.
Sharks are seen by thousands in
this region, aud countless dolphins,
but it seems strange that not fish
bone Is ever dredged up. A piece of
wood may be dredged up once year,
lu; 1t is honeycombed by the boring
shell tish, and falls to pieces at the
touch of the hand. This shows what
destruction is constantly going on in
those depths. Ii ship sinks at sea
with all on board it would be eaten
mp by fish with the exception of the
metal, and that would corrode and
disappear. Not bone Of a human
body would remain after few days.
1t is a constant display of the survi-
val OF the tittest. Nothing made by
the hand of man was dredged up af
ter cruising for months in the track
OF ocean vessels except coal clinkers
showed overheard from steamships.
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 the map shows,
Prof. Verrill continued; and this
stream Of warm water from the south
nourishes tho tropical life near Mas
ssachusetts. The temperature further
in shore is 35 degrees in August, on
the edge of the submarine Monnt
Washington 80 degrees, and towards
the bottom OF the basin, 80 degrees
while further out to sen the tempera
ture grows colder. On the surface
the jelly fish, nautilus and the Portu.
pllpso pnot, "a ,,.,,., a. n -,