The Somerset reporter., 1896-01-02
THE SARGASSO SEA.
A MEADOW OF FLOATING WEEDS IN
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

What at First Thought Appears to lie "a
Great Mystery Is Found to lie 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 im
pOrtant events III the history Of the
world, for its far away ancestors well
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 impenetrablo weeds They
believed that the thickening sea was a
warming of Providence to turn back
from their audaeious undertaking, and
it required all the firmness and author
ity of Columbus TO 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
lantie between the Azores, the Canaries
and the Cape de Verde islands, they
called it IA "marine meadow. The sail
ors, however christened il the Sargasso
sea, from the Spanish word sargazo,
which means seaWeed. Still, though
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 arc 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 III the seas, which adj
yances, 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 submarine
current by the north polar current; Oh
Tie other side II bathes the shores Of
GUima and Brazil.
And then there is the gulf stream of
The east, which issues from the bay Of
Bengal. It's waters, like these If our
own gulf stream, may be distinguished
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 tho strait
of MalaCca, sweeps the coast of Asia,
and then, north of the Philippine is
lands, PUSHES out into the ocean. deserlb-
ing the arc of Il great circle as far as the
Aleulan islands. Like the gulf stream
Ct the Atlantic, it moderates the riRor
Of the climates that it travorses.
The analogy between these two great
oceanic arteries is wonderful, but 1t is
enough for our present purpose to know
that to their circuitous currents the Sar
Rasso seas owe their existence
How: Well, this is easily explained
Drop some pieces of light moss or bits
of cork oI wood into "A tub of water :;
then with veur hand near its edge give
the water a circular motion. In a mo-
ment yuu VII see that all the floating
substance VII have collected in the
center. t...flEue Tie circular motion,
and at The same time blow sharply
against 1ie floating objects, and they
will chang their position, but viii not
leave the vicinity Of the ceuter SO long
as the rotary motion Of tue 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
cults 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 In 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, rs 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 Whata Vol
derful meadow on land that would he
for cattle And yet it is scarcely less $50
where 1t is for the creatures Of the sea.
This sargae,um, or gulf weed, is
rather odd locking. Its frond is very
long and furnished with distinct,
stalked, neryino leaves and berryike air
vessels ON simple axillaly stalks 1t is
found floating or east on the shores, but
its true home Is at the bottom of the sea,
whence, becoming detached, it rises to
the surface, broyed up by its curious lit
tie air vessels
The smGas.nm hardly locks good
enough To cal but that II is both pala-
table and nutritious is abundantly
proved by the many dishes that are pre-
pared from IT, not only IN China, hut in
other parts Of the east, -Hclen Harcourt
in Philadelphia Times.
ore Deposits.
Ingenious theories have from time to