Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-08-28

rences tell the same story of encroach.
ment by the ocean upon the continent
Comparison of maps shows that the
Atlantic coast from Barnegat inlet
twelve miles southwark, known as
Long Beach, has in thirty-two years re-
treated five hundred and forty-f1ve
feet-more than one-tenth of
mile. Surveys of Cape May county
demonstrate that within the last
century the shore along it has receded
| three-quarters of a mile. On the
Carolina coast the advance of the sea
upon the rice plantations has been GO
| ing on steadily for three generations.
| The sea is devouring the land says
Lafcadio Hearn. Many and many
mile of ground has yielded to the tire
less charging of oceans cavalry. Far
out you can see with good glass the
porpoises at play where of old the sugar
cane shook out its million bannerets,
| and shark fms are now seen in water
above a site where pigeons used to
COO
| Zone curious feature of these altera-
tons of the coast line by the encroach-
ment of the seas is found in the ex-
posture by the advancing waters of
| ancient meadows and forests long
closed to view old cedar swamps, and
thus singular industry-actual mining
for timber-has been created. At sew
eral points in eastern New Jersey
enormous quantities of white cedar and
magnolia logs, sound and fit for use,
are found submerged in what have now
become salt marshes Many of the
trees thus exhumed were forest giants
In the Great Cedar swamp, on the
creek of the same name, the trunks
reach diameter of seven feet
THE cause of all this is that the At
lantic and Gulf coasts are actually
sinking, and the rate at which they are
going down is estimated by the official
geoiogist of New Jersey at two feet
rlcentury. Now, the general sea-
ward slope of the edge of the CONT
nent is about six feet to the mile, so
that the sinking Of each one hundred
years gives a third of mile of
lowland to the ocean This would
seem to be rather less than the
rate of encroachmcnt indicated by
comparison of maps made at suc-
cessive periods Modern geologic
science has ascertained that the en-
tire crust of the earth is in condition
of such sensitive equilibrium that the
taking of weight from one part of it to
another brings about elevation of the
portion from whence the weight is re-
moved and produces a CORES ponding
depression of the portion where it is
added. The rivers which empty into
the Atlantic from Cape Cod to Cape
Hatteras and along the shore of the
Gulf carry out into the ocean each year
billions of tons of material, which is
| 6anncifn1 10 cd a
! The weight transferred causes a
steadily progressive depression of the
coast line.
eff all the water in the Atlantic
ocean were dried up you would per-
! haps be surprised to observe that the
eastern edge of the great land mass
! which we call the North American
= continent is not the present beach line
at all. You would see that the CONT
nent itself extends far out into the ocean,
? a distance varying from fifty to one
. hundred and fifty miles. Once upon
a time this terrace was all
; above the water; the east shore
= of the continent had very different
shape, there was a deep sea close to the
" coast, and the localities where are now
situated New York, Philadelphia and
Boston were far inland Gradually,
owing to the causes have mentioned,
! this great terrace has sunk so that ships
ire sailing over what was few thou
\ sands Of years ago dry land. So short
- a time from the geological point Of view
Il has been required to effect this change
= that the beds of the Hudson, the Poto
: mac and other great streams are still
deep channels cut out Of the terrace, 6
! sufficient period not having elapsed fol
filing them up with detritus.
), THE process by which this was &C
u complished is steadily and progressively
Il going on Each year the Atlantic shore
. line-and the same is true of the Gul:
coasts further westward by an aver
II age distance Of rod For each century
70 there is loss of one-third of a mile tx
- the edge of the continent. How long Il
- it going to be ct this rate before the
q eastern coastal plain of the United
70 States is submerged beneath the ocean
&c together with all its populous cities ano
fertile fields? These plains, Originally
fashioned by the sea, the ocean is re
claiming for its own. It's octopus arm:
" are selling them in their embrace, anc
day by day, month by month. year BY
re year, generation by generation, the
h monster is creeping further and furthe,
e inland. Its power is too great for puny
o. man to oppose successfully; he can only
re- slowly retreat before the invasion."-
p JACQUES OPERA HOUSE.