Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-12-07
DEEP-SEA DES0LATI0N.
THE OCEAN BED A DESERT OF OOZE
AND SLIME AFTER THE FIRST
MILE IN DEPTH.

Despite the fanciful pictures
which some writer's have drawn of
the ocean bed, its desOlation, at
least in its deepest parts, must be
extreme. Beyond the first mile 1t
is a vast desert of slime and ooze,
upon which is constantly dripping a
rain Of dead carcasses from the sur
face. which carcasses supply the
nourishment for the scanty fauna
inhabitiDg the abyssal region-in
some places more than 8 miles from
the sunshine-and the microscope
reveals that the shiny matter COW
ering this deepest ocean bed is very
similar in composition to the aD-
Gent chalk of the cretaceous
period, while mixed with 1t here
and there are minute metallic and
magnetic bodies, which have been
proved TO be dust from meteorites.
At long intervals phosphorescent
light CLEANS from the head of some
passing fish which has strayed hith'
er from higher and happier zone.
But it is not until we have mount
ed a good deal nearer the surface
that the scene changes for the bet.
ter. We now meet with forests of
brilliantly cOlored sponges, while
the phOsphOrescent animals swim
ming about are much more numer-
GUS and the nearer we get to the
littoral zone more and more phos-
phOrescent lights appear, till at
length the scene becomes truly an
mated. When only ], 200 feet sep
arate US from the sunshine, we come
upon the first seaweed and kelp
Il 200 ieet is the deepest limit of
plant life in water y but We must
rise still another 1000 feet and
more, and get as near the top as
100 feet before we find any reef
building corals. As plants do not
live IN deep sea, the deep.sea ami
mails either prey on one another or
get their food from dead organism
and plants which sink down to them.
Thus Marry says: "rhe sea, like the
snow cloud with its fakes in calm,
is always letting fall upon Its bed
showers of microscopic shells."-
And experiment proves that tiny
shell would take about a week to
fall from the surface to the deepest
depths. Since sunlight does not
penetrate much farther than the
littoral zone, there would be be
yond this perpetual darkness except
for phosphorescence. Many of the
animals inhabiting the continental
and abyssal zones have mere.
ly rudmentory eyes; butthese blind
creatures have very long feelers,
which help them grOpe their way
along the bottom. Other Geep-sea
animals, on the contrary, have enor
nous eyes, and these very likely
cOngregate around such of their
number as are phosphorescent, and
may perhaps follow the moving
lanp.posts about wherever they
go. Aud so bright is this light on
many of the fish brought up by the
dredge that during the brief space
the animals survive it is not diff
cult 10 READ Dy IL.
The reason why fishes and mol.
luks living more than three miles
under water are able to bear a pres.
sure of several tons is that they
haYe exceedingly loose tissues,
which allow the water to flow
through every interstice and thus
TO equalize the weight. When the
pressure Is removed they PERISH
In the Challenger expedition sent
out by the British government, all
the sharks brought up from depth
of a little less than three q uarters
of a mile were dead when they got
to the surface.-Cdtholic Magazine.
The oldest preacher In the world
is the Rev. David Smith, who re.
Gently opened the general confer
ence of the African NJ. e. church
in London with prayer. lie is 1O4
years Of age, and has been church
member for 90,years.