Evening star., 1894-11-03

recognize as forms that have been dredged
from great depths by the Albatross. Chai-
lenger and others. One, the Chiasmodon
dashes by, emitting a light from It's own
body; and, wonder of wonders; we see II
seize a fish five times its own bulk ana
draw itself over II like glove. Its jaws
by special arrangement separate, ana tne
mouth is a cavern of india-rubber-llkep possl-
bilities. A similar fish, Malacosteus, Is or
a rich black velvet hue. and as IT poises we
see upon It's head two large nghts. Ohe
emit5 a golden light, the other throws OUT
fitful green rays, which have some hldden
meaning in the economy of nature. Some
Of the fishes seem to be literal NOUNS.
Such Is the Curypharynx or pencan nSh
The mouth Is enormous, the bones OF tne
jaw being attached to the skull by movable
Joints, so that 1t has enormous powers OF
A curious black fish called Echiostoma
has it's lanterns arranged about It's mead;
two are just below the eyes, while there
are several others at various portions OF
the head. At depth Of two miles we ilno
the fish Bythites. and at three miles we
shall fipd others more remarkable. hiu-
eous snake-like creature is Stomias, with
poir ted teeth and a row Of lights along 1ts
ventral surface like the lights that are
seen in dark night in the car window as
the train dashes along. This fish has oeeh
taken from mile and quarter peheath
the surface by an English dredger.
Blazing With Light.
the bottom blazing with light at every STEP
Here are phosporescent crabs. and seafans
that emit golden, green and lilac hues
Blue scintillations coms from sea -pens
while others give out CLEANS Of gold and
green. Almost every animal is a nght-
giver. Some of the crabs are phosporescent
over the entire surface; others nave tneir
lights on stalked eyes, while the very muu
that rises seems to scin ntillate with llghS
that would appear to be an essential fea-
ture of the deep sea. We might In tms
walk of the imagii. alton descend to q
depth of six miles bereath the sea and stlll
find life.
In all probability the largest and most
remarkable fishes have not been seen, and
escape the dredge Many of these strange
forms of the abyssaI depths are types Of
eXtir ct FORMS and we can only imagine
what wonders the deep sea hides. In the
Atlantic and Pacific gigantic squids from
fifty to seventy feet in length are found,
and glimpses of strange snake or eel-like
sharks are suggestive of the uncaught
mysteries and unseen dwellers in the deep
sea Among the curious light-givers is a
shark which was caught by DR.. Bennett.
1t was perfectly black, but emitted a
strange phosphorescent light which re-
mained some time after the animals death.
The shark vas placed in jar in the cabin
of the vessel, and Is described as presenting
ghostly appearance, emitting a rich green
light almost sufficient to read by.
In desc scending into the intermediate depths
W ater attract our attention. Here is a jelly
fish, Its disk six feet across, its train of
tentacles possibly emitting a vivid light
and stretching away in maze of brilliant
lines for perhaps one hundred feet Such
Is the cyanea, one of about this dimension
being seen by Mrs. Agassiz off Nahant.
Such jelly fish moving through the upper
depths of the ocean, cleaning with it's
peculiar and uneXplainable light, might
we'll be compared to a great comet.
Other fcrms-huge disks are the moons
and lesser planets Of this submarine world
of space. The variety of tints and colors
emitted by the jelly fishes is almost beyond
comprehension, and so diverse are the
lights that the belief is forced upon the
beholder that they have some marked sig
nifcance in the economy of nature. One
known as lucernaria emits a pale blush
light all over its surface. Obelia has a
luminous stem alone. Cestus, or the Girdle
of Venus, has a yellow light. Idyia emits
roseate hues, while the light of Aurelia is
of such a brilliant yellow that when one
of the animals was squeezed into a glass
of milk the latter was rendered so luminous
that a letter was read by IT.
From these instances and they are but
few in many, il Is evident that the stroller
through the ocean, either in the moderate
depths at night or the abyssal realms of
day. would not wander about blindly, but
would have his pathway illumined by
lights effective and brilliant, rendering the
deepest ocean region the opposite of the
conditions Of stygfan darkness that It is
enormously supposed to hold.