The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-11

ate, better fitted than Maury for this dificult duty: and he worked with the zeal and the energy that were expected of him. It was at this period also that he began to write his first edition of the Physical Geography of the Sea- of which the great scientist Quetelet, declared: Tt is one of the most charm ing and instructive books in the Eng fish language" This work of vast re- search into the subjects of which It treats. including atmosphere, storms. monsoons, calmbelts, sea-breezes, and the influence of the Gulf Stream, was soon translated into the French. Ger man, Swedish, Spanish and Italian lan- guages More than twenty editions have been sold in England alone. Con corning it the Edinburgh Review said; The extent of scientific information which this work contains cannot be at all gathered from the mere enumcra- tion of the subjects of which 1t treats The book must be read to be appre- ciated." The interest which Maury awakened in the pubic mind. through a wide correspondence m regard to the subjects of his Physical Geography. enabled him to assemble at Berlin in 1853. under the auspices of the King of Belgium, congress of the nations chiefly interested in commerce viz: { land Sweden and Norway. Denmark. Portugal and the Uniteo States. Of this great international convention it has been said by one who was in att tendance upon it's sessions. Rarely has there been such n sublime spectacle presented to the scientific world. All nations agreeing to unite and cooper ate in carrying out according to the same plan, one system of philosophical research in regard to the sea Though they may be enemies Tn all else, here they are friends. Every ship that nav igates the high seas with these charts and blank abstract logs on board may henceforth be regarded as floating obsesvatory-a temple of science At the close of the Berlin congress Maury returned to his post at Washington, laden with many honors. The orders of knighthood were conferred upon him by the Emperor of Russia, the King of Denmark, the King of Portugal. and the King of Belgium. whose guest he made him a commander of the Legion of Honor and cambridge University gave him the degree of LLL D.
 The next step, and the one most nd- tural to follow. was the beginning of a similar series of observations on the land. Of these MauEy was also the leader. He travelled far and near, giving lectures to agricultural socie-  In a most interesting and effective man. ner the great advantages of such ob- servations to the occupation of bus bandry and the comforts of rural life. Out Of all this there has grown our weather bureau. At a public gathering in Alabama, Maury, In speaking of this department of the Government, called denied the justness of the claim, or the aptness of the comparison
 Maury had already received the ap-
 ,f tao faF1o oFrt f1n ha nat and his active mind was intent on new discoveries Previous to his nautical writings, and those observations which he and his assistants had made. the vast bed of the sea had received but small attention from scientific men. It was a region of profound mysteries. Poets only dared to say:
 Full many a gem of purest ray serene
 The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean
 bear.
 Philosophers as yet had not ventured SO bold an assertion. But just after the middle of the last century Midship- man John Minor Brooke, then stationed at the observatory in Washington, per fected a simple contrivance, by which the plummet on striking the bottom of the ocean detached itself and took up specimens of whatever 1t came in con- tact with, and brought them safely to|
 
 Brooke's deep sea sounding apparatus. Since early In 1S4s, when he was carry ing forward his wind and current in- vestigations in the North Atlantic, Maury had been of the opinion that a broad and level plateau extended at the bottom of the sea between New foundland and Ireland. This belief grew stronger in his mind as the months went by; and when Brooke's deep-sea plummet was brought into use he was soon able to establish his theory beyond a doubt. It was a cause of great satisfaction to him thus to pie ture and describe the unseen floor of the great deep; and it also gave new pleasure, and no small surprise to oth- CT scientific men in America and Eu- rope. In the spring of 1854 he wrote to the secretary of the navy. the Hon. J. c. Dobbin, informing him of this discovery. and discussing its nature with special reference to the laying of submarine telegraphic cable across the Atlantic. In this report Maury said: The line of deep sea soundings which have been made under my dlrec- tion seems to be decisive of the ques- tion as to the practicability of a sub marine telegraph between the two continents, in so far as the bottom of