Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1896-02-06
THE SARGASSO SEA.
A MEADOW or FLOATING WEEDS IN
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

What at First Thought Appears to BE .
Great Mystery Is Found to Be Very sim
PIE When Explained-Cause OF Mutiny
Among the Sailors Of Columbus.
Only bit Of floating seaweed that
the restless surf washed upon the beach,
and yet the mere sight Of it carried my
thoughts back to one of the most i'm
portant events in the history of the
world, for its far away ancestors we'll
nigh prevented the discovery of Amer
lea.
You know the story-how the igno-
rant sailors of Columbus became alarmed
and almost mutinied when their ships
sailed into what appeared to be perfect
network of impenetrable weeds. They
believed that the thickening sea was a
warning Of Providence to turn back
from their audacious undertaking, and
it required all the firmness and author
ity of Columbus 10 bring them back to
duty and obedience. That wonderful
mass of seaweeds was something new
and mysterious and therefore to be
feared.
Later on, when the Spaniards became
familiar with its constant presence in
that triangular space midway in the At
lantic between the Azores, the Canaries
and the Cape de Verde islands, they
called it marine meadow. +" The sail
ors, however, christened it the Sargasso
sea. from the Spanish word sargazo,
Il
satisfied that it was not of supernatural
origin. they could not account for its
existence.
Science, however, long ago solved the
mystery, not only Of this, but Of other
Sargasso seas. For there are several
others, and they are always found, each
in almost the same spot. The diurnal
motion Of the earth, the never ceasing
rush Of the tides and the steady force Of
the winds create, under the tropics, a
surface current in the seas, which ad-
vances, from east to west, at the rate Of
about ten marine miles an hour.
This current, which is called the
equatorial current, or current Of rota-
tion, is only superficial, and extends in
one vast mobile sheet, which moves be-
tween the tropics 1t forms the genial
waters Of the Caribbean sea and feeds
the gulf stream. At Cape San Rogue it
divides, one part flowing south to meet
and be transformed into a submarine
current by the north polar current; on
the other side it bathes the shores of
Guiana and Brazil.
And then there is the gulf stream of
the east, which issues from the bay of
Bengal Its waters, like those of our
from the bordering waters of the great
ocean by their indigo tint. The Japa-
nese call it the black river.
Leaving the bay Of Bengal, this great
warm current passes through the strait
Of Malacca, sweeps the coast Of Asia.
and then, north Of the Philippine is
lands, rushes out into the ocean, describ-
ing the arc Of great circle as far as the
Aleutian islands. Like the gulf stream
of the Atlantic, it mcderates the rigor
Of the climates that it traverses.
The analogy between these two great
oceanic arteries is wonderful, but it is
enough for our present purpose to know
that to their circuitous currents the Sar-
gasso seas owe their existence.
How? Well, this is easily explained
Drop some pieces of light moss or bits
Of cork or wood into a tub of water !;
then with your hand near its edge give
the water a circular motion. In mo-
ment you will see that all the floating
substances will have collected in the
center. Continue the circular motion,
and at the same time blow sharply
against the floating objects, and they
will change their position, but will not
leave the vicinity of the center SO long
as the rotary motion of the water con
tinues. Observe, too, that this center is
comparatively calm.
This is the explanation Of the Sargas-
SO seas. In the center Of the several cir
cuits Of the great oceanic arteries vast
basins Of comparatively still water are
formed. The currents by which they are
surrounded constantly throw toward the
center all floating substances, especially
marine plants, and these, owing to the
quiet waters, multiply with great rapid
ity. those that have lived their appoint
ed time sinking out Of sight, while new
ones take their place. Even the action
of the winds, as intimated above, serves
only to shift this position slightly.
The marine meadow" with which
we are most familiar, that of the mid
Atlantic, spreads over an extent of sur
face five or six times as large as the ter
ritory occupied by France. What won
derful meadow ON land that would be
for cattle! And yet it is scarcely less so
where it is for the creatures of the sea.
This sargassum, or gulf weed, is
rather odd looking Its froDd is very
long and furnished with distinct.
stalked, neIvine leaves and berrylike air
vessels Oh simple axillary stalks 1t is
found floating or cast Oh the shores, but
its true home il at the bottom Of the sea,
whence, becoming detached, it rises to
the surface, buoyed up by its curious lit
tie air vessels.
The sargassum hardly looks good
enough to eat, but that it is both pala
table and nutritious is abundantly
proved by the many dishes that are pre-
pared from it, not only in China, but in
other parts Of the east. Helen Harcourt
in Philadelphia Times.