Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1888-11-23
Deep Sea 0esolstion.

Despite the fanciful pictures which
some writer's have drawn of the ocean
bed, its desolation. at least in its deep
est parts, must be extreme. Beyond
the first mile il is a vast desert OF
slime and ooze, upon which Is con
stantly dripping a rain OF dead car
casses from the surface, which car
casses supply the nourishment for the
scanty fauna inhahiting the abyssal
region-in some places more than five
from the sunshine-and the micro
scope reveals that the Shiny matter
covering this deepest ocean bed Is very
similar in composition To the ancient
chalk Of the cretaceous period, while
mixed with il here and there are min
ute metallic and magnetic bodies,
which have been proved To he dust
from meteorites. At long intervals
phosporescent light CLEANS from the
head Of some passing fish which has
strayed hither from higher and hap
pier zone. But il is not until we have
mounted "a good deal nearer the sur
face that the scene changes for the
better We now meet with FORESTS oi
brilliantly colored sponges, while the
phosphorescent animals swimming
about are much more numerous, aud
the nearer We get 10 the littoral zone
more and more phosphorescent lights
appear, till at length the scene be-
comes truly animated. When only
| POO feet separate us from the sun
shine, we come upon the first seaweed
and kelp q, 200 feet is the deepest limit
Of plant life in water: but we must
rise still another 1000 feet and more,
and get as near the top as 100 feet be-
fore we find any reef-building corals.
As plants do not live in deep sea, the
deep sea animals either prey on one
another or get their food from dead
organism and plants which sink down
to them. Thus Maury says: The
sea. like the snow cloud with it, flakes
in calm, is always letting fall upon
its bed, showers OF microscopic shells. y
And experiment proves that n tiny
shell would take about week To fall
from the surface to the deepest depths.
Since sunlight does not penetrate
much farther than the littoral zone.
there would be beyond this perpetual
darkness except for phosphorescence.
Many Of the animals inhabiting the
continental aud ubyssal zones have
merely rudimcntary eyes: but these
blind creatures have very long feelers,
which help them To grope their way
along the bottom. other deep sea
animals, on the contrary, have enor-
nous eyes, and these very likely con
gregate around such OF their number
as are phosphorescent, and may per
haps follow the moving lamp-posts
about wherever they go. Aud so
bright is this light Oh many Of the iish
brought up 10y the dredge that dur
ing the brief space the animals sur
viye it is not difficult 10 read by Il.
The reason why fishes and mollusks
living more than three miles under
water are able TO bear pressure of
several tons H. that they have exceed
! ingly 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.
ali the sharks brought up from N
depth Of little less than three-quar-
ters Of mile were dead when they
/ got To the snrfnce