The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-03

H ORTLAND, Ore, August 2.-(Spe-
 cial.)-The versatility of Uncle Sam, who already is known to be farmer, an irrigation expert. a builder of dams and harbors, a mineralogist. and a follower of various other avoca- tions, now has found expressions in com partively new field of activity, the ex- ploration of the bottom of the sea. This work Is being done by the bureau of fish cries of the department of commerce and labor, and 1t is illustrated most effectively in the fisheries wing of the United States government building at the Lewis and Clark exposition.
 In Investigating the hitherto unknown depths of the sea, the bureau of fisheries uses a modern steamship. "The Alba tross.' a model of which Is exhibited at the exposition. The, Albatross is a. twin screw steamer which was built in 1882. The ship has a length of 234 feet over all, and a displacement of 1000 tons. The Albatross was built for this service, and is provided with many interesting equip ments including two laboratories, a pho- tographic dark room, a medical dispen- sary, and store room, besides the scien- tlnc instruments and appliances Tor reaching great depths.
 The AlbatroSs has conducted investiga- tions in all parts of the world, making deep-sea explorations all along the At lantic coast, on the Grand Banks, in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and about the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska. She has made more than 10000 deep-sea soundings and 4000 dredgings. and has brought from the bottom of the sea hum of of Hchae nd n har never before seen by man. The greatest depth at which the AlbatroSs found life was 4173 fathoms. and the deepest sound ing made was 4813 fathoms, or about five and one-half miles. This sounding was made about 100 miles souteast of the Is- land of Guam. The highest mountain in North America would be covered by two miles of water if placed in this depres- sion. The greatest ocean depth known is 5269 fathoms, which was ascertained by the United States steamship Nero while using apparatus belonging to the Albatross.
 The manner of finding great depths and bringing to the surface specimens from the bottom of the formerly unfathomable waters Is interesting and comparatively simple For finding the depth of the sea, two sounding machines, Tanners and the Sigsbee machine, are used the former being adapted to comparatively shallow water. the latter for finding extreme depths. The two machines are similar, but in the Sigsbee deep-sea sounding ma chine steam power is used, the Tanner machine being operated by hand. Steel piano wire Is used in place of hemp rope, being stronger and less elastic, and offer ing less resistance to ocean currents. A 65-pound shot is attached to the wire, to act as weight, and a short distance above this there is a brass water cup, and above the cup a thermometer.
 When the shot is hurled overheard its weight carries 1t rapidly to the bottom and when the shot strikes, 1t Is auto matically detached in order that the line may be drawn in more easily. When the bottom Is reached 8 valve in the water cup opens. and the cup is filled with water, and. at the same time the thermometer automatically registers the temperature. Thus one operation enables the crew to ascertain the depth of the sea and the temperature at the bottom. and to sample the water from the lowest point.
 Tn the dredging operations, which con- stitute the most important part of the fisheries bureaus Investigation of the deep sea, a big boom and a scientific dredge are the most important articles of equipment. The boom is thirty-six feet long and ten inches in diameter at the base. It is attached to the forward mast, after the manner of a derrick, and when onerated Is swung out over the starboard side. The dredge Is a net built like a funnel-shaped bag, and the size of the mouth varies according to the size of the bag. being from six to fourteen feet across. The mouth of the bag is held