The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-02-28

the faculty determined to give the girls a
chance There were five professors in the
crowd, and the rest were students. The YES
sci was commanded bya capable navigator.
The expedition was absent three months
and brought back enough material to fill a
freight car. In the stuff were sharkskins,
turtle skeletons, birds of the land and sea,
specimens of vegetation and all sorts OF
things that inhHbit the ocean depths.
A large share of the spoils was packed in
alcohol in great tanks and soldered tight
Many crinoids were found. This is an eX
ceedingly rare animal, growing on the bot
tom of the ocean on long stalk and look
ing like chrysanthemum. 1t would hardly
become the rage as floral decoration, how.
ever, as single specimens are often worth
SEQ apiece. The Hawkeyes cruised in the
wateos along the north coast Of Cuba
among the Tortugas and the Bahamas
A dredging outfit Is not at all cOmpli
Gated A dredge consists of rectangle OF
iron, with lip on two opposite sides, SC
that the sand or mud will be scooped up
Arms are placed on the other two sides, to
which IS fastened the rope by which the
machine is dragged. a net covers the bot
tom and suspend- below it, fine enough TO
retain almost all the material, but still let
the water pass through easily and relieve
as much strain as possible. The taugle
bars are an important addition TO the uten-
sis of a modern dredging expedition.
Hemp is UNFINISHED, or teazed out, as the
process is called, and tied to an iron bar,
from which il hangs like a fringe The
bar used by the party on the Emily was 5
feet long, and pieces Of rope 4 feet in
length were fastened to it, The tangle bar
drag along the bottom Of the sea, and the
trailing strands of rope gather in their
meshes great variety of objects
The Emily used wire rope with which to
haul the dredge and tangle bars. The rope
was wound around a drum and kept well
oiled 50 that the metal would not Corrode
The dPedge is usually brought to the side
of the vessel with donkey engine but the
Iowa scientists did the work with their
hands, manipulating crank. The dredge
is put over the side and suffered to trail
astern. A practiced hand on the rope can
tell when the machine is on the bottom, as
the line vibrates when the dredge strikes
an inequality. To dredge 200 fathoms, al
most 800 fathoms of line are let out. The
vessel moves slowly along, and in half an
hour bhe hauling in is commenced. II this
is done by hand, the labOris very fatiguing,
as the strain on the dredge and the weight
of the water are immense
When the dredge arrives at the surface,
it is lifted over the side and is carefully
sorted Basket fish and stars and other
sea forms are clingiug to the arms and the
last few feet of the rope and are picked of.
The GRtents are dumped on piece OF can.
vas, zrh the animals etc, to be preserved
are pkseed in tubs of sea water that have
been 8epared. Sometimes the dredge is
turned inside out, and sometimes the bag
unlacss at the bottom.
The vessel is put on another tack so as &c
keep within prescribed area, and the
dredge is thrown over again. Alcoho
tanks are placed on the deck, and the ma
terial from the last haul is carefully labeled
with tle number of the station and put ii
pickle A book is necessary, in which eacl
haul is numbered. the latitude and longi
tude and the date written. The location Of
each haul IS called a station. Marine vege-
tation is dried, and sea urchins are treated
very often in the same way,
Scientists greatly enjoy deep sea dredg
ing. The same excitement attends this
operation as fishing. There is Away,
chance that the dredge will bring NJ
something strange, that we will catch 1
prize. Out of the mouth of the dredg'
tumble funny fishes, grotesque crabs, sc,
horses and host of things that you have
never before seen and never would hav,
seen if you had not been present at theil
capture. AS regards the casual observer
hauls made at 200 and 300 fathoms ar,
much more interesting than those made a
1900 and 8, 200, because at the greater depth
the mass of material is ooze, and the AMI
mails arc soft and 1abby and burst as sooI
as the pressure of the water is lessened
Three miles of salt water is a heavy weight
ED l.. SABIN.