Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1896-02-04
WHY THE SEA i ALT
tT HAS BEEN SO EVER THE
CREATION or THE v b.

% Great Benent % nfantind ntinonta
Produced BY the ehsletoni Anifnnia
1hna Gould Not uhve lived l.l rcsh Wa
tsr-rrosss short Aocoune
The sea nt present contains 90. .o0o,-
900, 900, 900, 600 tons o. salt. r. this sali
could be gathered ia solid form and
compressed into the s,sre o. 4 cube. it
would contain 10. 0U0 cnbio miIea
Each edge Of such he would mems
uro somewhat more ban 900 miles
This ia enough TO cover oil the land on
this globe with q uniform layoAof salt
to a depth Of 900 foet
This statement IS % lhc Ell ness AZ
The sea II interesting enough in itaeli
but It is also suggestive. The questions
may well be asked, Who're did ali this
salt come from, and what ia the use az
itf Several scientific gontlmen have
attempted to answer this llrsl question.
and their efforts are not entirely ratis-
factory. Tho second Question IS not e
difficult -
According to tho bisto~-s q The croa-
tiou "a '8ne world. as told By Moses IN
the Genesis. il is implied that the ocean
existed before the land for, on the
third day the water under the hoav-
ems was gathered togethsr and The dry
land appeared.
This statement has bothered q great
number Of able philosophers, who, IN
their effort to stick to the letter of the
Scripture and at the same time to rea-
son out everything on perfectly natural
principles, have been puzzled to know
how such grand Transformation could
be accomplished Ia one day. And their
perploxity 'VFes not relieved when learn
ed geologists announced that IL must
have required ages for the waters that
enveloped the earth TO Eubaide aud re-
veal this land that lay beneath.
But when q was suggested that the
word day as used BY Moses meant.
not a period Of "a hours, but an era Of
thousands Of years the difficulty was
removed. This meaning Of the word
"day" Is a. present generally accepted
By dsvout scientists, who now declare
that there is nothing impossible in No
ses' account Of the creation.
This description, to be sure, is la
mentally brief Il was hardly adequate
to pass over such q huge event Is the
creation Of a world in a few lines. That
was big story from a newspaper point
OF view, and all thoughtful persons
must acknowledge that Noses did not
take advantage Of his opportunity.
Accepting the Mosaic account, Dr.. 7.
S. Hunt, learned writer on tho phys
ical history Of this globe, supplies what
Moses left out, and in so doing he gives
a very good reason for the presence Of
the salt in the pea Having arrived at
the point Of Moses meaRer narrative
where the earth was in a molten state
and surrounded BY an envelope Of gases
and Of water vapor, Dr.. Blunt says;
1.-THE carbonates, chlorides and sui
pilates (chemical combinations Of car
bon, chlorine and sulphur with oxygen)
were changed into silicates The car
bon, chlorine and sulphur, being thus
freed from the oxygen, separated in the
form Of acid gases These, with nitro
gen, vapor Of water and a probable ex-
cess Of oxygen, formed the atmosphere,
which was very dense (and also very
unhealthy.
''Tho surface Of the earth was cover
ed with Jumps Of motion rock (probahly
resembling furnaceslag). The depressed
parts Of the surface were filed with
highly heated solutions Of hydroohioric
and sulphuric acids, which ate into the
surface and decomposed it. In this way
20 ailicates were changed to pure silica,
taxing the form Of quartz as the atmoH-
phere cooled. and the condemnation Of
the vaporous atmosphere produced seq
water holding IN solution salts Of sodi'
nm, calcium, magnesium and ammoni'
um. Tho atmo1phere, thus freed Of ia
noxious elements. became pure and al
for man..
Il is therefore evident that the ser
, has been salty from tho oreation Of ths
world The salt does not come, as il
generally supposed. from friction of thi
water against salt rocks" IN the bed
Of the ocean. This. then. answers thl
/ nFst question. Where did tho salt CONT
] from4 The second question Il prett,
} well answered by Mr.. g. W. Little
halea in Appleton'a Popular SciencI
Monthly.
''It soenis. he says ''lhat the sel
) was made salt ia the beginning as
part Of the grand design of tho Create
) to provide for the system Of evolution
] which has been going on since the crea
tion Many distinct species Of iiyinl
organisms exist Ia tho sea as q result Q
its aalinity, and their remains hnv
largely contributed to the growth Of con
tiuenis
The minuto creatures that have live
in the sea Tor ages past have LETT ondul
r ing rnopuments in the shape Of islaudl
rocks and continents II the see had nc
been salty, these marine animals coul
y not have existed and secreted the bar
g substance known ag a 'cnloareoua algaif
2 ton. which hna largely contributed
Y the growth Of continents. Among thea
2 early inhabitanis Of the sea were oofai
. cHlnoids. sea urchine and siardshos
p The taliinesa Of the sea has also niue
(. 90 40 with lho ocean CURRENTS, whlc
diatinnie Inc beat a the TROPICS oVl
p tbo colder regions ol tho earth Curren
arc largely due % ihe dinaouco b
y tween the specific gravity Ql sea Wat|
and the fresh waior of ralna Ihu
when rain falls on d cttiain part 81 q
ocean. lho aaost ol tho heavier nalt W
lar "a lho ootan 60 ostabiIah ~ equ'lil
rium cobae current New Xo'
"a World
w....ll.. I....