Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-05-12
SEBMARISE PHoruG
Pictures Have Been Taken Successful,
Under Water.

Pictures Have Been Taken successfully
Under Water.
Prof. Louis Boutan of the Sorbonns,
has written an article for the Century
describing his successful experiments
in Submarine Photography" Prof.
Bontan. descending in a diving suit,
took number of photographs of the
bottom of the sea at varinus depths.
Some Of these pictures ale reproduce
in the article, including one taken by
magnesium light Prof Boutan says
The oXtent of the surface of the earth
covered by water is vast, since il far
surpasses that OF the dry land. What
DO We know OF this mart Of the globe
hidden by the seas and oceans2 Very
little, it must hu admitted. Except
along the immediate edge of these i'm
menae bowls which can be explored in
diving bells. the means which natural.
ists have at their dlspUsal for oxamin-
ing these depths arc most parliamentary.
Nobody can 20 down into them, as the
TREMENDOUS pressure OF the water rem
ders this impossihle. For long time.
therefore, il was imagined that the bot
tom OF The ssa was one vast extent OF
mud, without the presence of living
things; but numerous scientific exps-
diiions fiually proved that such was not
the case, and that multitude OF curl
Gus and even fantastic animals were to
be found there
The product OF even a single catch,
including many sharks, as made by us
Mt the Arago laboratory, convinced me
that ut depth of 500 meters the bot
tom of the ocean ia full Of life. All
these big sharks (Centrophorus gauu
losusl are carnivorous. In order TO live,
these animals must eat other animals :
so there must DO many other animals
whence these come, although We know
almost nothing about them.
AS regardB the aea, the naturalist is
in much tina same situation as would
be an inhabitant Of the moon who could
live in ethereal space, hut could not
breathe the air which anvslops our
earth. Let us suppose that this voyager
from thu ethereal regions should come
in contact with our atmosphere lie
would float above the highest strata
without being able to penetrate them,
separated from the earth by the gases
which surround it, What must he do
IL he wishes to know something OF what
exiats below the layers Of cloud which
hide our globe from his view? lie
would do az our naturalists have done
construct dredges and nets, and, having
weighed them. would let them down
like the anchor OF a balloon, and try
and pull them along the surface of the
earth. Do you think that with such
primitive instruments he would obtain
very practise ideas Of the terrestrial
globe2 Every agile animal would fiee
before the apparatus, which, il it did
not get irretIievably caught 10 some
oak. rock or lofty factory chimney,
might bring back, after having scraped
for some time along the surface of the
earth, bits of leaves. pebbles mingled
with soil, &C., all of which, however,
could give only very vague idea con.
corning the constitution of the globe.
Up to the present our nnturalista have
done hardly more than this. Though
it is quite true that the apparatus used
10 as perfect as pussible, and that the
most illustrious students OF nature have
displayed in their lahore an ingenuity
which l should never dream of calling
into question, Mt bottom the proceed
ing is the name in both cases. They
drag rudimentary instruments blindly
through the depths of the aeas.
What a change will come over the stu
alton The moment it becomes ppssihle
to lot down to the bottom Of the ocean
a photographic apparatus provided with
a powerful Hftikuinl light! Although
this camera will not la allie to bring
back pictures Of wide extent, NAV IL
not succeed in satisist torily photograph
ing 100 square meters of spaceY And
will not such photographs contain n
most precious fund of information?
Everything leads ono to believe that
it will soon be possible to construct
Photographic apparatus which will ac-
compiish its work successfully at any
depth of water. But without going 80
far as this, and without Launching fsrth
into hypotheses which have not vet
been realized, 1t may be asserted that
submarine photography uan already
produce useful results
10 the immediate vicinity OF tb.
coasts, the photographing Of landscapes,
the interiors Ut grottnes, animals
caught in their medium, furnishes the
student useful anC precious informa.
ton; and, from an industrial point of
view, one may see how it can bs em.
ployed practically. Suppuse, for in
stance, ship TO be at the hotto,n of
the sea. How are we to know its ev,
act position, and to determine the eY.
tent of tie damage which il has snf.
cred? A good submarine photosranh
would be more valuable to the engineers
than all the information which divers
could furnish.