Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-07-01


the surface smooths the waves, and
permits the light to reach them.
1t was a way with DR.. Franklin,
when he had observed any thing curl
GUS, not to let it 90 until he had dis
covered the principle involved. Some
years elapsed, however, before he got
light upon these curious facts. One
day, while living in the neighborhood
of London where there was a large
pond, he observed that the water was
violently agitated by the high wind
that was blowing. He brought out of
the house cruet of oil and dropped
little of it on the water. The oil
spread over the surface with surprising
swiftness, but it did not smooth the
waves, because he had applied it to the
leeward sides, and the wind drove the
oil back upon the shore.
81 then,n he continues, "went to the
windward side where the waves began
to form, and there the oil, though not
more than teaspoonful, produced an
instant calm over a space several yards
square, which spread amazingly and
extended itself gradually till it reached
the lee side, making all that quarter
of the pond, perhaps half an acre, as
smooth as looking glass"
This was very striking experiment
indeed, which confirmed all his previ-
GUS facts, though it did not explain
them. He was so much struck with it
that afterwards, whenever he went into
the country, hecarried little oil in the
upper hollow joint of his bamboo cane
with which to repeat the experiment as
opportunity offered. The same result
constantly followed. What surprised
HIM most was the wide extent of space
which single drop of oil would cover
and the extreme rapidity with which it
spread. He placed a drop of oil on
polished marble and on plate glass, but
it spread very little; while on water it
spread in an instant many feet round,
and smoothed the waves farther even
than the oil could be seen. Other facts
were continually reported to him. He
learned that shoals of herring were be-
trayed to the fishermen by the smooth
ness of the water over them, caused,
apparently, by the oil exuding from
their bodies. A Rhode Island gentle
man told him that the harbor of New
port was always smooth when the
whaling vessels were in it, He finally
arrived at this explanations
''The wind. blowing over water GOV.
cred with film of oil, can not easily
catch upon it so as to raise the first
wrinkles, bat slides over 1t and leaves
it smooth as it finds it,"
He became at length well satisfied
that oil could be utilized to still the
tumultuous waves of the ocean, even
to the saving of large ships otherwise
past help. Some years after he had
the satisfaction of knowing that the
experiment had been tried on Dutch
ship, bound from Batavia to Amster.
dam. In wearing the ship around neal
lee shore, which was a matter ol
great difficulty, the captain poured oil
over the foaming sea. This at once
prevented the waves from breaking
iuto the vessel, and contributed es
sentially, as the captain reported, tC
her preservation. The quantity of OF
required was very small, considering
the effect produced-about thirty gal
Ions of olive oil DR.. Franklin further
suggested, and partly verified by eX
pertinent. that boats on nearing ,
beach can sometimes subdue the break
ers by pouring out little oil before
reaching them.
All these facts and many more wer
fully written out by DR.. Franklin il
1875, and published soon after, both il
French and English. Nevertheless, i
has only been within very few year
that captains of vessels have practice'
the simple and inexpensive remedy
After the events of the present year
surely no vessel should leave port with
out supply of oil and some simple ap
paratus for dropping it slowly and con
tinuously into troubled sea.
To DIR. Franklin the passengers am
crew of the lost steamship Oregon ow
debt of gratitude, for it was he VIII
communicated to Christendom the an
cient Chinese practice of dividing tn
hold of ship into number of water
tight compartments, which kept tn
Oregon aaoat nine hours, and ough
to. have kept her ailoat until she reache
her dock at New York. His advice o.
this subject, too, was not followed t
any great extent until recently. S
slow are we to adopt improvement
which demand of us a little eXtr
trouble and expense!-M y Ledger.