Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-01-11
"But whereabouts does It begin to

run up-hili?"
:" Not far from Cape Sable" Jack re-
pied, Though perhaps the expression
that used was rather too strong.
What meant was that the Coast Sur
vey soundings have shown a gradual
rise from this point where the stream
Is about thirty miles wide, clear up TO
Cape Hatteras. where it is more than
twice that width"
And why does the Gulf Stream al
ways run to the north and eastp" So
We'll" replied Jack, Slowly, ''there
sre different theories on that point.
The daily motion of the earth from east
to west has something to do with it.
Then, again, it is claimed that the
waters of the Gulf Stream and its tribu--
taries are salter than the sea which
hens it in. consequently evaporation
takes place faster, so that the water is
always hurrying in to take the place of
that which the thirsty trade winds are
tapping up. And perhaps the trade
winds, blowing steadily from the north
east, help to force this moving body of
water in the direction of the Caribbean
Sea-"
And then, by the aid of diagrams.
ooNN chONCQ ulS HIOtlltI HOW tUlS
wonderful river in the sea, after follow
ing our own coast-line for hundreds OF
miles, splits in sunder above the forti-
eth parallel of latitude.
This branch runs up to the north
ward and eastward" said Jack, point
ing out the tiny arrow-heads marking
It's course, while the other, tending due
east, at last overilows its banks of salt
sea, and is spread out over thousands OF
square miles along the European shores.
Then describing grand sweep. OF
which mid-ocean might be called the
middle, il helps form the great equato-
rial current which in turn is swept to-
ward the Caribbean Sea-"
But, jack said his brother. with a
puzzled look, ''why don't the Gull
Stream water mix with the ocean,"
WELL Jack slowly replied. that
is pretty hard for me to explain, be-
cause don't fully understand it my
self. But as nearly as do understand
it." he continued, s''it's something on
the same principle as the fact that hot
and cold water don't unite in a dish till
they're, so to speak, stirred up together
pretty thoroughly And then they say
that bodies of water Of different densi-
ties won't mix readily, which is ano her
reason, for the Gulf Stream is consider
! ably salter than the ocean which hens
it in. But just See. Syl,'i Jack went
on, warming with his subject" Just
see how beautifully the Creator makes
everything pull together. 50 TO speak.
! Now the earth is conductor of heat,
you know" .4 .4 ......l...
Sylvester didn't know, but nod led his
assent. and Jack went on:
"Well, if the Gulf Stream flowed di-
rectly over the bottom of the sea, il
would soon loose its temperature. But
the Almighty has SO arranged it that
away up in the Northern regions a polar
current is set in motion, and comes
| sweeping down to meet the Gulf Stream
somewhere near the Grand Banks.
When it strikes the warm current il
sinks to the bottom, and so puts itself
between the stream and the bottom OF
the ocean, so that the water is kept at
! exactly the proper temperature.
- But what's the use of the Gulf
Stream, anyway" persisted Sylvester.
Use of it, echoed Jack; IL guess
this would be a pretty uncomfortable
country to live in if there was no Gult
Stream. Only for this current to carry
away the heated water from the Gulf Of
Mexico and Caribbean Sea, the whole
region down there would be parched,
sun-baked. dried-up desert, where no
one could live nor anything grow. And
the same excess of heat that ii brings
away from the torrid zone is spread out
where it is most needed further north.
1t tempers our own climate to n slight
extent. but its greatest power is felt
across the ocean. But for the warmth
it scatters broadcast in its eastern
sweep, the British Islands, which are in
the same latitude as Labrador. wOuld
freeze up solid, and France might have
sleighing all the year round, for aught
/ know. Then, again, vessels bound
from Southern to Northern ports get the
advantage of its two and three knot cur.
rent, and in winter, when they are iced
up on our own coast. few hours sail.
ing brings them into warm water. which
melts off the ice and thaws out the sail.
ors. Oh. / can tell you. Syl," said
Jack, drawing his lecture TO q close, n
he caught his brother hiding a yawn,
/" the Gulf Stream is n great institution.
And as Sylvester came To think 10 AZ
over afterward, he was of the same
opinion. Frank II. C0HcerSe, ga Hdr.
per'S Young People.