The Bessemer indicator., 1893-12-23
LIVE UNDER THE OCEAN.
QUEER NEioHBoRs OF THE HA-
WAiIAN CABLE.
Terrible Things with Tsrribis Nanes-
Animals That Look Like i,uttonhois
bouquets. and > sponge That Wears
Cross-DrcdG Glng.

Professor George Davidson has
completed a profile OF the cable
route between California and Hawaii
surveyed by the United States fish
commission's steamer Albatross Q
few months ago. says the San Fran
cisco Examiner. This Is the route
that the officials At Washington. who
received the Albatr oss' reports. have
decided is most economical and
available.
While the Albatross was surveying
the cable route the scientists Of her
crew went fishing. They fished in
all kinds OF ways. from scooping
things on board from the surface to
dragging them from tho extreme
depths with travis, draRs and
dredges. They fished for everything
mud, rocks, coral. fish, crustace-
ans, animalcula, worms, vegetable
specimens. and. in short, everything
that could possibly have habitat In
the saline depths.
The dredges for capturing fish and
animals are equally simple. consist
ing OF trawl nets, canvas bags opened
by rectangular frames, and long bars
hung with large swabs, according to
the depth to be fished or the sort OF
specimens desired. Then there is
a surface net used to catch pelagic
fauna, visible and invisible. and they
present some elaborate distortions
when viewed under magnifying
glass.
The Albatross scientists md Mr..
Agassiz, the younger. have been
classifying and labelling some Of
these queer things OF the SEQ. and OF
course tho queerer the fish tho
greater the struggle to select fit
ting name for 1t. These names are
as queer us the fish In many in
stances, but there is root or iounda-
tion for the name in all cases.
Scientists greatest trouble seems
to be in determining the dis
tinctions between the inhabi-
tants OF deep water. the mid
dle depths and the surface
strata There are many imperfec-
| tions in the best methods OF trawling
and dredging, and the naturalist In
sorting his fish after haul in mid
ocean is often at a loss to know at
what depth his various captures have
been made. Many deep-sea fish lead
an active existence despite their soft
bones and feeble muscles, and the
enormous pressure under which they
live, but still peculiar specimens
may have come from the bottom OF
mny have been entangled in the
meshes within few fathoms OF the
surface during ascent or decent o.
the trap. II q fish has no eyes at
oil or huge eyes that pop out Of the
sockets when pressure is removed al
the surface. 1t is probable that 1t il
from the bottom or great depth,
but daep-sea eJes are so varied thai
they arc not sure test
Among tho deep-sea beauties is
the sternoptyx diaphana, which is
very much head and eyes and com
paratively very little body. 1t has q
friend in the monolcro atrilnana,
which Is blessed with four eyes, and
another In the ugly-headed bara
thronus bicolor. which has almost nc
eyes at all, and another IN the
aphyonmus mollis. which has only
rudimentary eyes that are hard tc
discover.
The mac Faroid family Is the mos,
extensive Of any below the 100
fsthomlhepth-characteristic abysma
forms the scientists call them-an
seventy-1vo per cont of the fshet
brought up from the depths are next
of kin. They have eyes OF great size
and luster, and saw-liko fms along
both top and bottom.
The greatest gourmand Of the
ocean is the blnck chiasmadon, oil
great swallower 1t possesses teeti
to chew with. but the teeth are on
OF all proportion to the stomach
which is the boss feed receptacl,
pure and simple. Tho chiasmado,
is a cannibal, and u fish half Us larg,
as itself is only a moderate satisfac
tion for that terrible stomach.
After getting through with tn,
queer fshes the deep fishers turnet
their attention to freak crustaceans
ono OF which is curious compoun,
OF polyp and crab. Catapaguru
they are called, according to tn
labels on the glass jars The cat
apagurus builds up house by tn
base Of suitable polyp. and force
1t to expand so as to enclose the ami
NAL in broad cavity. ii an anon
/ ono chooses to bloom on the othe