Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-20

K~AA baffling mysteries of nature.
B @AN 1t is popularity believed that
III WMI this phenomenon is the
~ &M graveyard of a mighty fleet
e4-41Y of dead ships, and flctionists
have made much of its sug-
gestions of romance tragedy and lost
treasure. When Christopher Columbus
was sailing toward America he en-
countered the Sargasso sea He re-
corded in his journal that they be-
gan to see many tufts of grass which
were very green and appeared to have
been quite recently torn from the
land" Upon sight of this phenome-
non his sailors exclaimed that the very
sea itself was turning into land in
order to retard his progress. This vast
eXpanse of weedy sea is very little
less of a mystery to the present gen.
Grafton than ii was to Columbus. As
far as science is able to. tell us, the
Sargasso sea is practically the same
today as when it was first discovered
and is perhaps the only one of the
larger aspects of nature which has
not undergone some change since that
! time.
It's area is still definitely underlined
and the cause of its weedy deposit is
still in dispute. 1t has remained a
battling ground for scientists all these
years, and has developed into source
pl ueilSnI LOT imaginative MIll0IS. II
is situated in the North Atlantic
ocean, and is similar in shape to an
egg, the large end being toward Flor
ida. 1t reaches from longitude 10 to
longitude 40 being about 900 miles
southwest of the Azores. Its width
lies between latitude 90 and latitude
35. The Bermuda islands are the only
body of land within its area, they
being near its northwest edge. 1t is
,gtf fV1o cd - "a a =
miles in extent
The Sargasso sea has been likened
to a basin of water with light sub
stances floating upon its surface
When this basin is given a circular
motion the mass gathers in the CEN
ter, where there is the least disturb
ance. The Sargasso sea is the center
of the body of water inClosed in the
circle formed by the joining of the
gulf stream current and the equatorial
current
The Sargasso sea Is covered with
masses of yellow brown seaweed.
Each stalk has little air bladders which
enable the plant to remain at the sur
face of the water. This weed usually
is seen in long, parallel rows, which
stretch away in the direction of the
prevailing winds Sometimes ii be
comes so packed as to form island-like
patches These are to be found mostly
in the western part of the sea, and are
seldom over a hundred feet in diam
eter, although fields several acres in
extent occasionally are seen. 1t is be-
lieVed that near the center of the sea
these areas become larger. This weed
serves to keep the water calm even
though a heavy wind is blowing.
Where this great supply Of seaweed
comes from is a mooted question. Some
believe that ii grows at the bottom of
the sea directly beneath the area In
which it is seen. This theory has been
discredited by scientists making sound
ings which showed no growths what
ever at the bottom Others believe that
the plant grows on the surface of the
water. each branch that breaks off
from the parent stem becoming an in
dependent plant. This theory also has
been discredited The greater number
of scientists cling to the belief that
the weed is a habitat Of the Gulf of
Mexico, as 1t has been found attached
to rocks at the bottom in most parts
of it. Their theory is that the seeds of
this plant become attached to rocks in
the manner usual to all algae. When
the plant has obtained a considerable
size II offers greater resistance to the
progress of the continual current than
the stalk will stand and consequently
is broken off It then rises to the sur
face and is swept onward by the
stream until it passes through the
Gulf of Florida. The Gulf stream has
a tendency to throw all floating bodies
off to the right of its course, and the
weed is therefore gradually turned into
the central area. one point in sub
sanitation of this theory is the fact
that the ends of all the stalks are dead
While no shoals or hidden rocks have
been found, in fact nothing whatever
Of a dangerous nature, 1t is neVerthe-
less an unpleasant sensation to have
a shin pass swiftly through an ocean
covered with herbage resembling par
TALLY submerged meadow 1t requires
several similar experiences before the
uneasness wears off So much has
been surmsed in connection with the
Sargasso sea that to divide the truth
from the untruth is difficult matter
One of the most prevalent of the un-
truthful ideas regarding this phenom-
enon is that ships are unable to make
their way through its eXpanse, and