Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-10
UNDER THE OCEAN.
Al Enliaence Like Mount H'dSHiHgton
Submerged OF Our Coast.
GNau V,rlx Sim

Al Emiaence Libe Mount WdShiHgton
Submerged OF Our Coast.
New York Sun.
Eight subjects were discussed in the
National Academy of Sciences yesterday
in Columbia college recitation room.
Prof. \. Z. YerriIl, of Yale college, de-
scribed the physical and geological char
acter of the bottom of the sea off our coast.
especially that which lies beneath the
gulf stream. He made 1900 observations
this summer for the United States
fish commissioners. He has cruised
from Labrador to Chesapeake
bay and about 200 miles out to sea. About
sixty miles outside of Nantucket is a streak
of very cold water, and animals dredged up
are like those caught in Greenland, Spitz-
bergen and Siberia. The water is fifty
fathoms deep, and the bottom of the ocean
is of soft clay. BoQlders weighing 800 or
1000 pounds are dredged up. Prof. Verrill
believes that they are brought down by ice
bergs from the Arctic regions and dropped
when the ice rnelts. The boulders are
found as far south as Long Island.
Further out to sea, seventy to 120 miles
south from the southeastern coast of New
England. the bottom of the sea, which has
inclined very gradually eastward, forming
table land, takes a sudden dip downward,
so that whereas the water on the edge of
the bluff is 100 fathorls deep, at the bot
tom OF the basin is 1000 fathoms deep.
The slope is as high and as steep as Mount
Washington, and on its summit, which is
leyel.a diver could he go to so low depth,
could not put out MS hand without touch
ing living creature. The bottom of
the sea is covered just there
with fauna which has never
been before found outside of the Mediter-
ranean sea, the gulf of Mexico, the Indies
and other tropical regions. The number
of species of fish dredged up is 800, and
over half of them have never before been
seen by naturalsts. Seventy kinds of fish
ninety of crustacea and 270 molluska have
been added to the fauna. The age of
many of the specimens shows that they
must be permanent IN that region. The
trowel let down from the ships by mile
of rope brings up ton of living and dead
crabs, shrimps. and star fish, and as the
trowel simply scrap95 over small surface
the ocean bed is plainly carpeted will
creatures
Sharks are seen by thousands in this re
gion, and countless dolphins, but 1t seem:
strange that not fish bone is eve
dredged up. 4 piece of wood may b.
dredged up once 4 Year, but it is honey
combed by the boring shell fish, and fall
to pieces at the t)uch of the hand. Thi
shows what destruction is constantly going
on III these depths. If ship sinks a
sea with all on board it would be eaten u!
by fish with the exception of the metal
and that would cOrrode and disappear
Not a bone Of the human body would re
main after a few days. It is a constan
display Of the law of a survival of tn
fttest. Nothing made by the hand of MAJ
dredged up after cruising for month
in the track of ocean vessels, excepting
coal clinkers showed overheard fro1
steamships Here Prof. Verrill correcte
himself. Twenty-Five miles from Ian
he dredged up an India rubber dol
That, he said, was one thing the fis
could not eat.
Here the gulf stream is forty miles full
Their west than any map shows, ProfessO
Nerrill continued. and this stream of waite
from the south nourished the tropical lif
near Massachusetts. The temperatur
further in shore is thirtyfive degrees i
August, on the edge of the ub-marin
Mount Washington ffty-two degrees, en-
toward the bottom of the basin thirty de
grees, while further out to sea the temper
allure of the water grows colder. O
the surface the jelly fish, nautilu
and the Portuguese man-of-war, wit
other tropical fish, are found. 1
this belt the tile fish, about which SO muc
was said a year ago, was found in immens
quantities, but this summer, although e1
peditions have been made for the expires
purpose of catching some, not one could
taken. Undoubtedly they had been killed
TO a fish, by storm which carried the col
water into the gulf stream; indeed, it
known that a cold current of water restin
on the oceans bed may contain Arctic fisl
and current Of warm water floating owe
it on the surface may be alive with trop
cal fish.
As to the quantity of light at the botto1
of the sea there has been much disput,
Animals dreaged from below 700 fathon
either have no eyes, or faint indications
them. Or else their eyes are very large an
protruding. Crabs eyes are four or tiJ
times as large as those Of a crab from su
face water, which shows that the light
feeble. and that eyes to be of any Us
must be very large and sensitiv
Another strange thing is that whe,
the creatures in those lower deptl
have any color, it is of orange red, or re
ish orange. Sea anemones, corals, shrim
and crab have this brilliant color. Som
times 1t is pure red scarlet, and in man
specimens it inclines toward purple. N
a green or blue fish is found. The oran$
red is the f5hs protection, for the bluis
green light in the bottom of the oces
makes the orange or red fish appear of
neutral tint and hides it from eneInit
Many animals are black, others neutral
color. Some fish are provided with be
ing tails. so that they can burrow in &
mad. Finally, the surface of the subm
rine mountain is covered with shells, Ill
an ordinary sea beach, showing that it
the eating house Of vast schools of carni
orous animals Goldfish takes who
oyster into its mouth, cracks the shells, {
ges.s the meat and splits ont the re-