,transcriber's note3 ,italic font is indicated by underscores4 ,bold font is indicated by the equals symbol4 ,,the ,,mighty ,,deep ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,apothecaries' ,co41 ,ceylon ,,burst ,,of ,,the ,,south-,,west ,,monsoon ,,against ,,the ,,colombo ,,breakwater ,frontispiece ,,the ,,mighty ,,deep ,,and ,,what ,,we ,,know ,,of ,,it ,,by ,,agnes ,,giberne ,,author ,,of 8,,sun1 ,,moon1 ,,and ,,stars02 8,,radiant ,,suns02 8,,roy1 ,a ,,tale ,,of ,,the ,,days ,,of ,,sir ,,john ,,moore02 ,,etc41 ,,etc4 8,if ,i had asked thee1 saying1 ,how many dwellings are there in the heart of the ,sea8 444 peradventure thou wouldst say unto me1 ,i never went down into the ,deep40 #b ,esdras iv4 #g4 ,,with ,,illustrations ,london ,c4 ,arthur ,pearson ,ltd4 ,henrietta ,street #aijb ,,dedicated ,,to ,,the ,,revered ,,memory ,,of ,,victoria ,,the ,,great1 ,r4,i4 ,,sovereign ,,lady ,,of ,,the ,,british ,,empire ,,queen ,,of ,,the ,,ocean ,,and ,,mother ,,of ,,her ,,people ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author ,,roy ,a ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,peninsular ,,war ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 with illustrations1 price #es4 ,,press ,,notices 8,an interesting and well-studied romance of military adventure40--,scotsman4 8,the illustrations are good1 the writing is pithy1 and the tone well calculated to inspire youthful readers with lofty ambitions40--,morning ,advertiser4 ,,london3 ,c4 ,,arthur ,,pearson1 ,,limited ,,henrietta ,,street1 ,w4,c4 ,,preface ,this little book makes no profession to be a systematic text-book of ,oceanography1 or to contain exhaustive discussions of the latest discoveries and theories4 ,the subject is far too vast to be so dealt with in one small volume4 ,a library would almost be needed for the purpose4 ,much information has been gained within the last decade or two of years about the ,ocean1 its make1 the laws which govern its movements1 its dark and mysterious depths1 the various deposits upon its bed1 and the innumerable living creatures by which it is inhabited4 ,all that ,i have attempted has been to cull a certain number of leading facts from the great storehouse of knowledge1 and to put them in order1 for the many who love sea-breezes and ocean-waves1 and who may like to know a little more about the friend whom they so often visit4 ,with regard to ,authorities1 ,i must acknowledge my indebtedness to the following books1 among many others3 ,the ,realm of ,nature1 by ,dr4 ,h4 ,r4 ,mill2 ,report of the ,scientific ,results of the ,voyage of ,h4,m4,s4 ,challenger--,deep ,sea2 ,coral ,reefs1 by ,professor ,dana2 ,standard ,natural ,history1 edited by ,j4 ,s4 ,kingsley2 ,the ,microscope1 by ,carpenter1 revised edition2 ,british ,merchant ,service1 by ,r4 ,j4 ,cornwall-,jones2 ,resources of the ,sea1 by ,mc,intosh2 ,harvest of the ,sea1 by ,j4 ,g4 ,bertram2 also numerous papers and articles in the ,geographical ,magazine1 ,national ,geographical ,magazine1 ,scottish ,geographical ,magazine1 ,proceedings of ,royal ,society of ,edinburgh1 ,annual ,report of ,smithsonian ,institution1 ,natural ,science1 etc41 etc41 by such writers as ,sir ,john ,murray1 ,dr4 ,h4 ,r4 ,mill1 ,professor ,james ,geikie1 ,albert ,prince of ,monaco1 ,admiral ,sir ,w4 ,h4 ,l4 ,wharton1 ,mr4 ,john ,milne1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,gnther1 ,mr4 ,john ,aitkin1 etc4 ,in conclusion1 ,i beg heartily to thank the ,librarians of the ,royal ,geographical ,society and the ,zoological ,society of ,london for the generous courtesy with which they have lent me books and supplied latest information1 without which this little book could never have been written2 also to express my warm gratitude for the invaluable help afforded by the criticisms and suggestions of the kind and able friends who have read my ,,ms4 and proofs4 ,,worton ,,house1 ,,eastbourne4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 8,,the ,,sea6 ,,the ,,open ,,sea60 #a ,,ii4 ,,salt ,,water #aj ,,iii4 ,,earth',s ,,vast ,,ocean #ai ,,iv4 ,,subject ,,to ,,law #bg ,v4 ,,in ,,ocean ,,depths #cg ,,vi4 ,,rivers ,,in ,,the ,,sea #ej ,,vii4 ,,of ,,wind ,,and ,,water #fa ,,viii4 ,,an ,,ocean ,,of ,,azure #gj ,,ix4 ,,ice-,,needles ,,to ,,ice-,,mountains #gi ,x4 ,,receiving--,,to ,,give ,,again #hi ,,xi4 ,a ,,story ,,of ,,conflict #ajb ,,xii4 ,,about ,,the ,,long ,,past #aaj ,,xiii4 ,,old ,,ocean ,,as ,a ,,builder #abb ,,xiv4 ,,how ,,chalk ,,is ,,made #ace ,,xv4 ,,of ,,ocean-,,weeds #adi ,,xvi4 ,,coral ,,architects #afc ,,xvii4 ,,over ,,the ,,ocean-,,bed #agf ,,xviii4 ,,multitudinous ,,life #ahe ,,xix4 ,,ocean ,,flowers ,,and ,,lamps #aif ,,xx4 ,,armoured ,,myriads ,,and ,,monsters #bjg ,,xxi4 ,a ,,goodly ,,company ,,of ,,crabs #bbj ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,world ,,of ,,fishes #bcj ,,xxiii4 ,,some ,,oddities ,,of ,,fish-,,life #bda ,,xxiv4 ,,behemoths ,,of ,,the ,,ocean #beb ,,xxv4 8,,down ,,to ,,the ,,sea ,,in ,,ships0 #bfa ,,xxvi4 ,,an ,,empire3 ,,ocean-,,wide #bgf ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,the burst of the ,south-west ,monsoon against the ,colombo ,breakwater ,frontispiece ,bore of the ,tsien ,tang ,kiang ,facing page #cd ,an ,iceberg1 showing the section under water 0 #hf ,diatom ,cases 0 #aed ,part of ,diatom ,case 0 #aef ,deep-sea ,fishes 0 #ahb ,beam-trawl and ,tow-net employed in deep-sea research 0 #ahh ,a ,deep-sea ,crab 0 #bbj ,a ,blue ,whale 0 #bed ,,the ,,mighty ,,deep ,,chapter ,i4 8,,the ,,sea6 ,,the ,,open ,,sea60 8,how cheery are the mariners1 ,those lovers of the sea1 ,their hearts are like its yesty waves1 ,as bounding and as free40--,p4 ,,benjamen4 8,therefore also do men entrust their lives to a little piece of wood40 ,wisd4 of ,sol4 xiv4 #e4 ,once upon a time1 over two thousand years ago1 our ancestors lived in a country smaller than ours1 to the north-east4 ,they had not yet taken possession of two ,isles1 which in the then distant future were to become the ,headquarters of a world-wide ,empire4 ,already one characteristic of the race was prominent2 they delighted in the ,sea4 ,within their small limits of power they ranged the ,ocean1 they wrestled with its fury1 they subdued it to their will1 they rejoiced in its strength1 they found often their graves beneath its surface4 ,the ,english then1 as now1 were ,ocean-folk4 ,may it not be that we in modern days love the sea1 and flock to its shores1 and carry our ,flag to its furthest bounds1 because our forefathers1 the ,norsemen1 the ,angles1 the ancient ,vikings1 found their joy in it8 ,their march1 like ours1 was on the mountain-wave2 their ,home1 like ours1 was on the deep4 ,probably with them1 as with us1 it was not always an unchastened joy4 ,even a hardy ,viking might know the unpleasant consequences of ,ocean's rougher moods4 ,but no such discomforts drove him to stay ashore4 ,had our forefathers been made of feebler stuff1 had they been easily checked in their enterprises1 centuries of history must have been changed4 ,the development of ,english nature would have followed other lines4 ,in those days the fight could not but be severe4 ,no mighty ironclads1 no huge three-deckers1 existed4 ,no ,p4 and ,o4 liners1 no great merchant ships ranged the seas4 ,our forefathers tackled the waste of waters with what we should consider the merest cockleshells4 ,even in these days we know what is meant by 8perils of the seas20 but in those days the term must have carried a hundred-fold deeper meaning1 both to the brave fellows who ventured on the stormy main1 and to the waiting wives and mothers on land4 ,all the more honour to them that they were not daunted4 ,each man's victory or failure in life's battle cannot but help to shape the course which his descendants in future ages will pursue4 ,the ,sea for us has a vivid personality4 ,we know grand old ,neptune so well1 with his trident and his snowy hair1 his dashing waves and his impenetrable depths1 his gentle breezes and his furious gales1 his moods of mild serenity and his fits of vehement wrath4 ,he has his faults2 but in spite of all we love him4 ,at one time the ,sea was for men a type of the ,infinite1 of the ,immeasurable1 of the ,boundless4 ,we use still the same words2 but they have lost some of their force4 ,in these days the whole ocean has been mapped out from shore to shore4 ,we know exactly what countries lie round each part of it4 ,we can tell how long and how wide it is in any direction4 ,as we stand on the shore1 and talk of the 8boundless ocean10 we are perfectly well aware that we are looking across to ,france or ,spain1 to ,germany or ,ireland or ,america4 ,grand and far-reaching the sea still is1 but to us no longer 8boundless40 ,in ages gone by1 those who stood upon the coasts of ,palestine or ,egypt1 of ,greece or ,italy1 gazed towards unknown horizons1 across what was to them an illimitable ocean4 ,the civilised world consisted of a few countries bordering the ,mediterranean on the east2 and those countries shaded off into unexplored barbaric regions4 ,as for the 8great ,sea10 as they called that which we regard as hardly more than a huge inland lake1 it was in their eyes the embodiment of ,infinitude4 ,at a very early period1 long before the ,english ,nation was dreamt of1 before the ,roman ,empire had grown into being1 while the polished ,greek of the future was still a semi-savage1 a nation of ,ocean-lovers already existed4 ,these were the ,phenicians1 foreshadowing in their pluck and enterprise the sea-going ,british of later times4 ,they1 unlike the sailors of other nations1 did not merely hug the shore1 but ventured out into the trackless ocean4 ,they1 unlike the sailors of other nations1 did not go upon the sea only in daylight1 but they traversed it also in the dark hours of night4 ,at first they were content with the nearer reaches of the ,indian ,ocean1 and with the more eastern parts of the ,mediterranean4 ,but gradually they wandered farther4 ,colony after colony was planted beyond ,egypt1 till they reached the ,pillars of ,hercules1 known to us as the ,straits of ,gibraltar1 to face a wild and strange ,ocean1 full of mystery4 ,there they made a startling discovery1 enough to impress the more thoughtful minds among them4 ,far to the east1 in the 8,indian ,ocean0 of our days1 their sailors had been acquainted with high and low tides2 while throughout the ,mediterranean scarcely any tides existed4 ,but in the open sea1 outside the narrow ,channel1 they found the very same tidal changes as in the eastern ocean4 ,it is hardly to be supposed that any one of them had a mind of such far-seeing grasp that he should be able to conjecture the grand truth of eastern and western oceans being ,,one--swayed by the same influences1 governed by the same laws4 ,a ,phenician of those days1 catching a glimpse of this truth1 would have been worthy to take rank beside our ,sir ,isaac ,newton of after days4 ,they are believed to have observed the coincidence2 no doubt with a feeling of wonder2 and probably it was to them merely a coincidence4 ,very little was then understood of the most everyday and commonplace workings of ,nature4 ,not much1 indeed1 can be said with certainty of what the ,phenicians did truly discover4 ,some observations they must have made of the heavenly constellations2 and the ,pole-star at least must have been known to them1 otherwise it is impossible to imagine how they could have steered their vessels at night1 in an age when the ,mariner's ,compass was unknown4 ,they are supposed to have sailed far south on the west coast of ,africa1 if they did not actually round the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,it does not appear that their knowledge was passed on to the ,greek nation4 ,either they were curiously reticent of what they knew1 or else such records as they may have left were destroyed and forgotten4 ,in after times the ,carthaginians1 descendants of ,phenician ,colonists1 were1 like their forefathers1 sea-lovers1 sea-explorers1 searching the main1 not as travellers search now from pure love of knowledge1 or from a liking for adventure1 but for the sake of commerce4 ,the ,carthaginians1 however1 instead of being able to make use of previous discoveries1 and to work onwards from a point already gained1 had to start afresh and to find their way--just as if it had never been found before--to and beyond the ,pillars of ,hercules4 ,to the ,greek imagination that wide mysterious ,ocean1 opening out from the narrow ,strait1 was unattractive and terrible4 ,it was a sea of limitless distances1 of fog and gloom1 of blackness and death2 not an unexplored ,ocean of possible glory and beauty and wealth4 ,time glided by1 and man advanced in his acquaintance with ,land and ,sea2 but with the latter slowly4 ,it was not until five centuries ago--and five centuries are but as a day1 compared with the full stretch of history--that two weighty steps were taken4 ,one step was southward4 ,one step was westward4 ,the ,african ,continent1 all along its northern region1 had been the scene of very old-world history4 ,but the south was shrouded in darkness4 ,a brief glimmer of light1 perhaps thrown there in ,phenician days1 had been long long lost sight of4 ,in the year ,a4,d4 #adhf1 a far leap from ,phenician and ,grecian days1 ,bartholomew ,diaz made discovery of the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 and one year later ,vasco da ,gama sailed round it4 ,these two explorers were only a little in advance of two greater voyagers4 ,in #adib ,christopher ,columbus started on his first cruise into the unknown ,west--and touched ,land4 ,less than thirty years later1 ,magellan's famous voyage was accomplished to those ,straits1 between ,patagonia and ,tierra del ,fuego1 which bear his name4 ,by that time the existence of the ,american ,continent had become an established fact4 ,but that ,continent had to be searched out4 ,and the ,ocean1 though its limits were widened in men's imaginations1 was very far from being mapped and fenced around with definite boundaries4 ,years of exploration still lay ahead2 and many a valiant explorer had to fall a martyr in the cause of ,science1 before mystery should yield to knowledge4 ,doubtless1 in those days as in these1 there was always somebody to ask1 8,but what is the use8 ,what good can it do to us to learn that there are lands beyond the sea8 ,what shall we gain by it all80 ,time alone1 with its developments1 with the growth of the human race1 with the enormous possibilities then undreamt-of1 could answer such questionings4 ,happily1 brave explorers have seldom been lacking1 who loving knowledge for its own sake have been content to labour patiently1 not for money1 not for fame1 not for immediate results1 but for the simple delight of better understanding the world around them1 and for the benefit of future generations4 ,and indeed1 if once we begin clearly to realise that the things which we see and hear1 the wonders of ,land and ,ocean1 are the outcome and expression of ,divine ,thought1 we shall scarcely deem time wasted1 which is spent in trying to find out a little more about those wonders4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,salt ,,water 8,the new sight1 the new wondrous sight1 ,the waters around me turbulent40 ,e4 ,b4 ,,browning4 8,water1 water1 everywhere1 ,and not a drop to drink40--,s4 ,t4 ,,coleridge4 ,the annual stampede of ,britons to the coast says much for our ,national belief in ,sea-breezes4 ,in other countries also people go to the sea for change2 but perhaps nowhere does the rush excel that on our ,island4 ,this revivifying gift1 though partly due to the wide and free expanse through which the breezes have travelled1 is largely owing to the briny ocean with which they have been in contact4 ,sea-water differs from rain-water1 well-water1 river-water4 ,true1 it is made up of all these1 since sooner or later and in one mode or another all water on ,earth finds its way to the ,ocean4 ,water may travel openly by river-routes2 it may creep silently by dark and devious underground passages2 it may float lightly vi cloudland2 but in any case its goal is the sea4 ,still1 though the ocean includes in its composition every kind of land-water1 ,sea-water as such is different from them all4 ,not only in its vast extent1 in its enormous depth1 but in its strong flavour of ,salt4 ,one of the commonest of substances is ,salt4 ,it is in the ground1 in air1 in water4 ,we even know that it does not belong to our earth alone1 but to many heavenly bodies also4 ,perhaps one reason for this abundance1 at least upon our ,earth1 is that it is necessary for life4 ,there is salt in the make of blood and of brain1 of muscle and of tendon4 ,salt is perpetually passing out of a man's body2 therefore continual fresh supplies of it are needed4 ,without a certain amount of salt in his food1 he cannot keep in good health4 ,this at one time was not understood2 and salt was looked upon as a mere luxury1 easily to be dispensed with4 ,condemned criminals were forbidden that luxury2 and they went through a good deal of suffering1 the reason for which was not guessed4 ,if plenty of animal and vegetable food was given to them1 they managed to get along1 since both contain salt2 but if they were kept on purely farinaceous fare1 they broke down4 ,where all the salt in the ,ocean comes from1 is a complex question4 ,large supplies are brought down annually by rivers and streams1 from various minerals in their beds1 as well as from rock-salt regions4 ,but if we ask1 8,how comes the rock-salt to be there80 we are told that it is a deposit1 once formed beneath ocean-waters1 or at least left by the drying up of salt lakes and seas4 ,a proof of the latter theory is found in multitudes of sea-shells1 often distributed through layers of rock-salt4 ,if much sea-salt came originally from rock-salt on land1 and if rock-salt came originally from ocean-deposits1 we are led into a curious circle of cause and effect--not unlike that of oak and acorn1 or of hen and egg1 with the attendant puzzle of--,which first8 ,it is a query which we are not able to answer4 ,in former days the salt used for household and mercantile purposes was almost entirely prepared by the evaporation of sea-water4 ,we no longer depend on this1 however2 and in ,england the sea-salt trade has gone down greatly before that of rock-salt1 which is found to be the better for table use4 ,it has not the same tendency to stick together in lumps1 after being packed in sacks4 ,great districts of rock-salt are found in many places--such as those in the ,carpathian ,mountains1 in the ,swiss ,alps1 in ,germany1 and in ,great ,britain4 ,one huge mine in ,galicia has been worked for six hundred years2 and this supply is said to reach through about five hundred miles4 ,from ,british works alone the quantity carried away every year amounts to a cubic mile of salt4 ,but land-supplies grow pale and insignificant before the quantities which float in the ocean4 ,it has been reckoned that1 if the waters of the whole ocean could be dried up1 the amount of salt left lying on the ocean-bed would be something like four-and-a-half millions of cubic miles4 ,such an enormous mass hardly conveys a clear idea4 ,let us think of one single cubic mile of sea-water1 separated from the ocean1 and see how much it would contain4 ,first1 the whole of that cubic mile of water has to be dried up2 and then the materials left behind have to be weighed4 ,we should find about thirty-three millions of tons of various kinds of substances1 the names of which need not be given4 ,we should also find of common salt a supply which1 when weighed1 would reach the great figure of one hundred and seventeen millions of tons4 ,all this1 be it remembered1 floating unseen in a single cubic mile of water4 ,no wonder the sea tastes salt4 ,in its make ,water is always the same4 ,whether it be cold or hot1 freezing or boiling1 causes no difference4 ,it consists of two gases1 united2 and the union is remarkable in kind4 ,the two gases are not merely mixed together1 as sand and sugar may be mixed4 ,they are by the union changed into a fresh substance4 ,for the time the gases exist no longer4 ,in their stead1 water has been formed4 ,and when the gases enter into this very close relationship1 they do it always in the same manner4 ,there is just so much of the one1 and just so much of the other4 ,one portion of hydrogen has to join with eight times as much by weight of oxygen--neither more nor less of either4 ,the same is true1 whether we are speaking of a great mass of water1 or of the tiniest speck4 ,it is not actually correct to say1 as is said above1 that water 8consists0 of the two gases4 ,so long as the water exists1 the gases do not exist4 ,and when1 through the action of heat or electricity1 the water is broken up and the gases reappear1 then the water no longer exists4 ,but at least we may say that it is the result of the uniting of those two gases1 and that it can be made in no other way4 ,an interesting experiment has been tried4 ,a certain amount of hydrogen gas and eight times as much of oxygen gas were weighed separately1 by means of very delicate instruments4 ,then through great heat the two were caused to unite into water1 and the water also was weighed4 ,it was found to be just as heavy as the two gases together had been2 and quite naturally so1 since neither of the two gases had lost or gained in weight4 ,this kind of union is called 8chemical40 ,french people are fond of 8eau sucr40 ,a lump of sugar is dropped into a glass of water1 and it disappears4 ,but it has not been destroyed4 ,it has not ceased to be sugar4 ,no mysterious union has taken place between the sugar and the water4 ,neither water nor sugar has changed its nature2 and no fresh substance has come into existence in their stead4 ,the water is there1 as it was before4 ,the sugar is there too1 not visible1 but to be found out by our sense of taste4 ,it has only been separated by the water into such minute particles that we cannot see them4 ,this is a case of mixing1 not of chemical union4 ,when we think of the characteristics of ,sea ,water1 as compared with ,fresh ,water1 we have to do with simple mixing4 ,as sugar floats1 unseen but not untasted1 in tea or coffee2 so salt floats1 unseen but not untasted1 in ocean waters4 ,such a thing as absolutely pure water is very rare4 ,no matter how clear a stream may seem to us1 it holds a vast number of specks of material1 collected from earth and air4 ,once a scientific man had some1 most carefully distilled1 which seemed to be of crystal purity4 ,but he put it under the strong beam of an electric lamp1 and1 alas1 for human powers6 after so doing he could only declare that the idea of purity was ludicrous4 ,if it is so with distilled water1 the less said the better about common drinking-water4 ,it may be well for our peace of mind that we have not stronger sight4 ,ocean-water holds about two hundred times as much dissolved material as ordinary fresh water4 ,the different kinds of substances found in any particular water-supply determine the character of that water1 making it sweet or sour or salt1 rendering it health-giving or death-dealing4 ,something has been said about the drying away of sea-water1 and the leaving of salt behind4 ,a remarkable instance of salt thus left is seen in the ,rann of ,cutch1 a flat ,indian plain1 about a hundred and ninety miles long1 and half as wide4 ,during the south-west monsoon the ocean waters are forced by powerful winds up the ,gulf of ,cutch to a considerable height1 overspreading the ,rann1 which for a time is turned into a shallow lake4 ,when dry weather comes1 the water vanishes1 partly retiring1 partly evaporating2 and a salt-strewn desert is left1 varied by sand-ridges1 green spots1 and little lakes1 but covered principally by 8sheets of salt crust40 ,my father1 when there many years ago with his ,regiment1 noted down his impressions of the scene4 8,from this spot0--the spot on which he stood--8the water is about eight miles distant1 the intermediate space being a flat surface1 entirely covered a quarter of an inch thick with salt in crystals1 looking much like snow1 in such quantities that it can be scraped up by the hand perfectly free from earth2 and on all this space not a blade of grass to be seen40 ,the same task is carried on by the working of sun-heat1 as by the fire under a kettle4 ,all day long in a warm climate the sun's rays are busily at work1 lifting from the ocean-surface a continuous stream of fine invisible vapour4 ,the water is drawn up particle by particle1 not in masses2 and the sun's rays have no power to lift the ocean-salt1 which remains behind1 floating still in the sea4 ,but when a strong wind lashes the surface into waves1 and rends the tops of billows into fine spray1 it often carries a great deal of salt to a distance4 ,we know how salt may be tasted on the lips miles inland1 and how windows near the coast become encrusted with it in stormy weather4 ,moving air1 like moving water1 can carry weight2 and it is thus1 through the action of moving air1 and not through the heat of the sun1 that we have our health-giving breezes off the sea1 laden with salt4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,earth',s ,,vast ,,ocean 8,thou great strong sea40--,,auberon ,,herbert4 8,drop by drop ,he counts ,the flood of ,ocean as it mounts40--,c4 ,,rossetti4 ,in these days we know the ,ocean as one vast whole4 ,not like our early forefathers1 standing on the brink1 to gaze with awe-stricken eyes into mysterious distances1 and to speculate upon the unknown4 ,minor oceans do exist1 certainly4 ,we have the ,atlantic1 ,north and ,south2 the ,pacific1 ,north and ,south2 the ,arctic1 the ,antarctic1 and the ,indian4 ,yet for us there is but one great world-wide ,,ocean1 encircling the ,earth1 every part being in connection with every other part4 ,a drop of water which to-day floats in southern seas may1 months or years hence1 have found its way by currents into the far north4 ,a speck of ice1 at this moment fast in the rigid embrace of polar berg or floe1 may1 months or years hence1 be washing to and fro in tropical waters4 ,a much greater area of water than of land is found upon the ,earth's surface4 ,so vast is the amount of the former that1 if the whole had to be put into separate vessels1 each vessel being one cubic mile in size1 the number of such vessels required would amount to no less than three hundred and thirty-five millions4 ,this very large order speaks for itself4 ,the outer ,crust of our ,earth1 taking land and sea together1 may be divided into three distinct parts4 ,like most such divisions in ,nature1 the one is often found to glide by gentle stages into another4 ,we have1 first1 ,land1 rising above the sea-level1 and consisting of plains1 undulations1 hills1 mountains4 ,it covers altogether less than one-third of the ,earth's surface1 and it is called ,,the ,,continental ,,area1 though ,islands as well as ,continents belong to it4 ,we have1 secondly1 the ,ocean-floor under deeper parts of the ,ocean2 that which lies beyond a depth of about two miles4 ,this division has been described as the 8great submerged plain10 and it comprises about one-half of the ,earth's surface4 ,it is known as ,,the ,,abysmal ,,area4 ,we have1 thirdly1 a middle region1 which may be spoken of as a kind of borderland under the sea1 connecting the dry land with the greater ocean-depths4 ,it amounts to about one-sixth of the ,earth's surface1 and it has been named ,,the ,,transitional ,,area4 ,by 8connecting0 the two1 ,i do not mean that it must always be between the two4 ,it does very generally so lie1 but there are exceptions4 ,some deeper portions of the sea are close to land1 and some parts of the ,transitional ,area are found far out at sea4 ,the meaning of the word 8,continental0 needs no explanation2 and the very word 8,abysmal0 carries its own sense4 ,more1 however1 will be said in future chapters about those reaches of ocean known as the 8,transitional ,area40 ,a curious law seems to have governed the grouping of land and water4 ,putting aside innumerable small islands1 scattered about1 we find that the great mass of land clusters towards and round the north pole1 with a water-and-ice-filled hollow for its centre4 ,while1 on the contrary1 the greater mass of water may be said to cluster towards and round the south pole1 with--so far as we can conjecture--a large extent of land for its centre4 ,the conditions of north and south thus seem to be exactly reversed4 ,not long ago it was believed that the ocean's floor might be a fairly close imitation of that which we see on land4 ,the differences1 however1 have been found to be greater than was expected4 ,perhaps it is not surprising1 when one thinks of the immense levelling power of water4 ,that must be a firm make of rock which can permanently resist the effect of sea waves breaking upon or near the shore4 ,and even deeper down1 where waves are not and currents may be slow1 some movement must still exist1 since the ocean is nowhere quite stagnant4 ,such movements1 no matter how gentle1 would tend to shift all loose and soft substances4 ,the ocean-bed is held to be generally flat1 though with gradual slopes here and there1 leading up or down to higher or lower levels4 ,many submarine mountains rear their heads1 sometimes near the surface1 sometimes above it4 ,in places high mountain-ridges run for a long distance below the sea1 with profound depths on either side2 and these again often show their peaks1 forming groups of islands4 ,broad reaches of the ocean are between two and three miles deep1 and here and there spots are found where the sounding-line goes sheer down three miles1 four miles1 five miles1 even six miles1 before touching bottom4 ,these greater depressions have been named 8,deeps40 ,at least fifteen of them are known in the ,atlantic1 and twenty-four in the ,pacific2 many of the latter lying close to islands4 ,some are long in shape1 some short2 some are broad1 some narrow4 ,one of the most profound1 and almost the only one known to exceed five thousand fathoms1 lies towards the south-east of the ,friendly ,islands4 ,a depth there has been found five hundred and thirty feet beyond five geographical miles2 and five geographical miles are equal to almost six of our common miles4 ,for a good while the notion was entertained that1 probably1 the loftiest mountain-peak on land1 and the deepest depth in the ocean1 would about match one another1 reckoned from the sea-level4 ,but this particular 8deep0 in the ,pacific sinks two thousand feet lower than the topmost peak on ,earth rises4 ,mount ,everest1 in the ,himalayas1 is twenty-nine thousand feet high2 and this ocean-depth is about thirty-one thousand feet deep4 ,only one other equal to it has yet been discovered4 ,no abyss divides ,england from ,france4 ,the 8silver streak10 though sufficient for purposes of defence1 is comparatively shallow4 ,all ,west ,europe1 indeed1 rises from a plateau1 reaching from ,norway into the ,atlantic1 on no part of which is the water more than six hundred feet in depth4 ,the 8transitional area0 in this case makes a true stepping-stone or ledge between dry land and ocean's abyss4 ,but another great plateau in the ,atlantic1 which may be called the 8backbone0 of that ,ocean1 is far from land1 running roughly from north to south4 ,it follows the outlines of the eastern and western shores1 and rises often to within a mile and a half of the surface4 ,on either side of the 8backbone10 which seems to be largely volcanic1 is a deep trough1 lying north and south1 and varying in depth from two to four miles4 ,this plateau unites ,europe with ,iceland2 and it forms a bond between the ,islands of the ,azores1 ,ascension1 and ,tristan ,d',acunha4 ,if by any means the whole ocean-surface could be lowered six hundred feet1 remarkable results would be seen4 ,at once the ,british ,isles would cease to be ,islands4 ,they would become a part of the ,continent of ,europe1 joined thereto by dry land4 ,the ,hebrides1 the ,orkneys1 the ,shetlands1 would share in this change4 ,the ,continents of ,asia and ,north ,america would be united at the ,behring ,straits2 ,ceylon would find itself a part of ,india2 ,papua and ,tasmania would be one with ,australia2 and all places hitherto on the coasts of different countries would find themselves six hundred feet above the sea4 ,such a change in the position of the ,british ,isles1 transforming them into a ,continental ,country1 would mean far-reaching consequences to ourselves as a ,people4 ,one such consequence may be briefly given in the words of a recent newspaper article3 8,dry up the ,atlantic to the #ajj-;fathom line1 and in six months we should bear the load of ,conscription as cheerfully and more efficiently than any nation in ,europe40 ,suppose that another great fall in the ocean-surface could follow4 ,not this time to six hundred feet1 but to three thousand feet1 below its present level4 ,the resulting alterations would be still more sweeping4 ,not only ,iceland and the ,froe ,islands1 but ,greenland also--and not only ,greenland1 but the ,continent of ,north ,america itself--would become one with the ,continent of ,europe1 no longer cut off from the ,old ,world4 ,a word as to measurements4 ,two kinds of 8miles0 have been mentioned4 ,there is the ordinary 8,statute mile10 used in common conversation1 which is #hhj fathoms1 or #a1gfj yards1 in length4 ,there is also the 8,geographical0 or 8,nautical0 mile--the 8knot0 of our ,navy--which is #a1jac fathoms or #b1jbf yards in length4 ,the difference between the two is not far from one-eighth of a statute mile4 ,roughly1 seven miles are equal to six knots4 ,a fathom is six feet or two yards4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,subject ,,to ,,law 8,thou rulest the raging of the ,sea40--,,psalm lxxxix4 #i4 8,nothing useless is or low1 ,each thing in its place is best1 ,and what seems but idle show ,strengthens and supports the rest40--,,longfellow4 ,things are what they are in this world very largely because of the pull of opposing forces1 and among such forces not one is more universal than that of ,gravity4 ,many causes beside ,weight have their share in making our ,earth what it is2 but if ,weight were banished from our midst1 the ,earth as we know it would exist no longer4 ,the only way to get rid of weight would be by getting rid of ,gravity4 ,and since no force in ,nature acts more steadily and incessantly than this1 we are no more likely to get rid of it than we are to get rid of the world itself4 ,gravity1 or ,gravitation1 or ,attraction--it is known by all these names4 ,sometimes it is called a ,law2 sometimes a ,force4 ,neither term may be counted amiss4 ,no law is worth anything without a sufficient force to back it up2 and no force is worth anything unless it acts according to law4 ,but we might almost as reasonably call this behaviour of things 8an ,obedience0 as 8a ,law40 ,each particle of each substance draws and is drawn by each other particle of every substance4 ,and each body in the ,universe1 from a grain of sand to a sun1 draws and is drawn by each other body1 whether far or near4 ,all these drawings are in obedience to that mysterious something--that force1 or power1 or influence--which has been named ,attraction or ,gravitation4 ,so much we know2 and beyond it we know very little as to the nature of the said 8,attraction20 but we find that the outcome of it is ,weight4 ,by means of weight1 the sun1 the moon1 the planets1 yes1 and even the countless multitudes of stars1 are kept in their paths2 in each case the inward pulling being counterbalanced by the impetus and outward pulling of a rapid rush4 ,by means of weight1 houses1 rocks1 stones rest firmly on the earth2 by means of weight1 the atmosphere is bound to the earth1 the ,ocean to its bed4 ,had sea-water no weight it might be scattered as fine water-dust through ,space4 ,a larger and heavier ,earth would bind down the ocean yet more strongly1 while a smaller and lighter ,earth would have a weaker grip4 ,easily as the sea is now stirred by every passing breeze1 an ocean such as ours on a little world like the ,moon or ,mercury would be more rapidly agitated4 ,the waves would leap higher with less cause4 ,so the ,ocean1 like the ,land1 is subject to law1 knowing neither repose nor action except in obedience to ,nature's forces4 ,when ocean-waters lie still as a mill-pond1 they do so through an exact poise of contending powers4 ,when waves rush high and currents pour strongly1 each movement is still in strict obedience to governing forces1 which are themselves governed by law4 ,each movement is due to a long series of past movements2 and each in turn helps to bring about a long series of future movements4 ,there are no breaks in the chain4 ,every effect is also a cause4 ,currents here and drifts there2 breezes here and hurricanes there2 all these disturb the calm of the sea4 ,only for a brief spell1 in one part or another1 is the pull of opposing forces so far balanced that the water can lie still4 ,and at most the stillness is comparative4 ,even in a so-called 8dead calm0 gentle heavings to and fro will be found4 ,absolute placidity in the ocean is a thing unknown4 ,even when the waters are at their stillest they are always being drawn steadily towards ,earth's centre4 ,a perfectly level ocean would mean each portion of its surface being equally distant from that centre4 ,the ocean ever strives after this ideal1 but never attains to it2 yet1 century after century that aim is pursued1 with a perseverance which might afford a lesson to ourselves4 ,despite all this change and restlessness1 we talk of the ocean having a 8level0 surface4 ,we picture it to our minds as being in outer shape the same as that of the ,earth--a sphere4 ,but this is not strictly true to fact4 ,if we could look upon the ,earth1 with large far-seeing eyes1 from a few thousands of miles off1 we should find curious irregularities in the watery outline4 ,instead of showing all round a smooth surface1 the ocean would be found to rise here and sink there1 to be in one part higher1 in another part lower4 ,a man roving over the ocean1 all about the ,earth1 would have in places to ascend undulations like hills1 almost high enough sometimes to be called mountains1 in other parts to descend declivities4 ,most of us have noticed in a cup filled with water1 that the water-surface is not perfectly flat4 ,close to the sides of the cup may be noticed a distinct rise4 ,it is the same in a tumbler1 in a basin1 in a slender glass tube4 ,for the sides of the cup or tumbler or tube attract the water1 drawing it upward2 and this is known as ,capillary ,attraction4 ,with the ocean the very same thing is seen4 ,if high land borders on deep water1 the extra attraction of mountain-masses will act just as the sides of a cup or tumbler will act4 ,they draw upward the water of the ocean to a higher level4 ,when ,i say that this is 8seen10 ,i do not mean that any careless looker-on will be aware of the fact4 ,it has to be discovered by careful measurement4 ,in some cases a marked difference has been found4 ,the enormous masses of the ,himalayas1 for instance1 exert a powerful drawing upon the neighbouring sea2 and at the delta of the ,indus the ocean-level1 in consequence of that attraction1 is actually three hundred feet higher than on the coast of ,ceylon4 ,besides land attraction1 winds have an extraordinary power to heap up waters in one place more than in another4 ,to some slight extent this may be seen upon ,english shores1 when a strong gale happens to blow landward at high tide4 ,on such occasions the waters often rise far beyond their usual mark4 ,mention was made earlier of those ,phenicians who1 having known an eastern ocean with tides1 and a ,mediterranean ,sea without tides1 must have been perplexed to find a western ocean which corresponded with the eastern in its ebb and flow4 ,we all know for ourselves in these later days1 how the tides rise and fall around our coast1 twice in twenty-four hours4 ,each high-water is twelve hours and twenty-five minutes later than the last2 so each succeeding day sees a difference of fifty minutes in the time of high or of low tide4 ,to a very large extent ,tides are due to the attractive power of the moon4 ,they are due also to the sun1 but in a much less degree1 which at first sight seems singular1 since the attraction of the sun1 by reason of its greater size1 far exceeds that of the moon4 ,from the fact1 however1 that the powerful drawing of the sun comes from an immense distance1 it follows that it has much less effect than the small attraction of the moon1 which comes from very near at hand4 ,her influence over our earth is exerted far more strongly with respect to those ocean-waters lying just under herself1 and far less with respect to those waters on the farther side of the globe4 ,the effect of these different pullings is to raise a double wave or swell1--one on the surface of the ocean just below the moon1 and one on the opposite side of the earth4 ,the waves mean high tides2 and low tides occur at places half-way between them4 ,were the whole ,earth covered by one continuous sheet of water1 these tidal waves would travel round and round the globe1 in a fashion easy and pleasant for students of the subject4 ,unfortunately for the said students1 their motions are very complicated4 ,in the northern hemisphere1 where land is abundant1 the tidal waves are greatly interfered with by continents and islands4 ,often the most that each can do1 as it sweeps along1 is to send side-waves and currents journeying northward into channels and bays1 estuaries and lesser seas4 ,through the open ocean the tidal wave has no great height4 ,probably in central regions of the ,pacific it rises only some three or four feet above the usual sea-level4 ,but when the flow enters narrowing bays and channels1 a very different result is seen2 and the waters are often piled up in a wonderful manner1--as in the ,bristol ,channel1 where the level at high tide is sometimes nearly forty feet above that at low tide4 ,a marked contrast to this is seen in the ,mediterranean4 ,there1 as already said1 practically no tides exist4 ,the rise and fall amount at most to only a few inches4 ,instead of a wide entrance and a narrowing estuary1 we have just the opposite--a narrow entrance and a widening sea beyond4 ,connection with the outside ocean is too restricted to admit of any full flow of the tidal wave4 ,solar tides1 or tides brought about by the sun's attraction1 are much the same in cause and effect as lunar tides1 only far smaller in degree4 ,when ,sun and ,moon happen to be on the same side of the ,earth1 or on different sides but in the same line1 so that their combined pull is exerted in one direction1 we have ,spring ,tides4 ,these are always at the time of ,new ,moon and ,full ,moon4 ,sun and ,moon then work together1 each helping the other in a common aim2 and the ocean-waters rise higher and sink lower than at other times4 ,when ,sun and ,moon are so placed with regard to the ,earth1 that they exercise their pull in a cross direction1 ,neap ,tides result1--that is tides which have small ebb and flow4 ,in this case the sun hinders instead of helping the moon1 and the moon does the same for the sun1 each tending to counteract the work of the other4 ,connected with and partly caused by the rise of the tide is the curious phenomenon known as a 8,bore0--a single high wave1 moving onward like a wall of water1 with great rapidity and a roaring noise4 ,more usually this belongs to a river1 and thus it has not much connection with the subject of the ocean2 but it is also sometimes seen in sharply narrowing estuaries or ocean inlets4 ,illustration3 ,,bore ,,of ,,the ,,tsien ,,tang ,,kiang ,face page #cd ,to the inhabitants of a flat and unprotected country1 bordering on river or estuary1 the bore is often a thing of terror1 for its advent is uncertain and abrupt1 and in its upward rush it sweeps everything before it4 ,the entering of such a wave into the ,severn is an almost daily event1 and it reaches often a height of many feet4 ,bores are usual1 too1 in the ,river ,st4 ,lawrence1 in the ,hoogly1 in an estuary of the ,bay of ,fundy1 and in other places innumerable2 and they vary in height from two or three feet to over twelve feet4 ,the effect of such a wall of water as this1 deluging low lands1 carrying away trees and houses and living creatures1 may be easily imagined4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,in ,,ocean ,,depths 8,my soul is full of longing ,for the secret of the ,sea40--,,longfellow4 8,of the old ,sea some reverential fear ,is with me40--,,wordsworth4 ,through ages of the world's history1 man knew nothing of the ,ocean beyond its surface4 ,he could sail on the sea2 he could bathe in the shallow waters near land4 ,if a good swimmer1 he might go farther out1 and might even dive for one or two minutes out of sight4 ,in more recent times1 with the help of a diving-bell1 he could descend thirty or forty feet2 and in a diving-dress he might even1 if experienced1 get from one to two hundred feet down4 ,but that was all4 ,of the vast depths beyond he was sublimely ignorant4 ,he did not so much as know of their existence4 ,until the late scientific expedition made in the vessel ,challenger1 that great world of the ,under-,ocean was swathed in mystery4 ,nothing is known of it now by direct personal observation4 ,no living man may penetrate those depths4 ,the only mode in which we can learn what is1 what lives1 what happens there1 is by means of 8soundings10 by sending down and drawing up specially prepared instruments1 the reading of which gives us information about that ,under-world4 ,soundings made in earlier times did little more than tell navigators how deep the sea thereabout might be4 ,such instruments as were then used could neither work beyond a limited depth1 nor say their say with accuracy4 ,of late years immense improvements have taken place1 both in the make of the machines employed1 and in the methods of working them4 ,past soundings were few and unsystematic2 whereas now they are many and by rule4 ,thermometers have been made which bring up from the bottom of the sea reports of the prevailing heat or cold1 moving unaffected through warm or cold layers between4 ,specimens of the materials which lie on the ocean-floor have been brought to light1 and analysed4 ,living creatures in great numbers have been hauled from their own domains1 examined and classified4 ,all this means progress4 ,and though1 no doubt1 fifty or a hundred years hence1 that which we now know will be looked upon as the barest ,a ,b ,c of the science1 still our knowledge is growing year by year4 ,the ,under-,ocean is no longer a vague fairy-land of possible mermaids1 or a waste region of death4 ,a region of death in one sense it is and must be4 ,all living creatures that die in the sea1 unless devoured by other creatures1 sink to the bottom1 there to find a tomb4 ,covered at first by a vast winding-sheet of water1 they may be slowly buried under the shifting mud and sand4 ,but in this sense the whole ,crust of ,earth may be called one vast sepulchre1 wherein all animals that die are entombed4 ,people are slow to realise how modern is our knowledge of ocean-depths4 ,about three hundred years ago a famous navigator made the first sounding which went below two hundred fathoms--that is1 about one hundred feet deeper than the height of ,beachy ,head from the shore4 ,he at once decided that1 by a happy chance1 he had alighted upon the uttermost depth in the ocean4 ,to him it was an awe-inspiring profundity4 ,yet1 when viewed beside such abysses as have been recently discovered1 depths of five and six miles1 his little 8deep0 was as a saucer beside a lake4 ,it is not easy to picture to ourselves the changeless calm of those abysses--those five or six miles of under-water1 with nothing from sea-level to sea-floor to break the dead monotony4 ,throughout such regions storms1 no matter how terrible1 have no power4 ,winds cannot reach them4 ,when ,ocean's surface is lashed by a hurricane into wild commotion1 that commotion is superficial4 ,it means a furious stirring and flurry of upper layers2 and it means no more4 ,if at the height of some fierce tornado1 a sailor could leave his tossing straining ship1 and could dive far into the sea1 keeping breath and sense and life1 he would soon quit the turmoil1 and would find himself in a scene of deep repose4 ,strange to say1 the idea of submarine ships actually doing this has been mooted1 as one of the new projects in the beginning of the ,twentieth ,century4 ,wave-motion does not descend much below the surface4 ,it is believed that the depth of water affected by a wave is usually about equal to the space which divides crest from crest4 ,so1 if we are looking at little ripples1 flowing one after another1 with crests perhaps one foot apart1 we may suppose that the water is disturbed by those ripples to a depth of about one foot4 ,or1 if we are watching larger waves1 with crests twenty feet apart1 we may suppose the disturbance to reach down to a depth of some twenty feet4 ,and if our gaze is fixed on dignified ,atlantic rollers1 with crests six or eight hundred feet apart1 we may suppose that the sea is affected to a depth of six or eight hundred feet--less and less affected the deeper we go down4 ,six or eight hundred feet1 compared with six miles1 are hardly more than a man's skin compared with his body4 ,and beyond the shallow depths where wind and wave have sway1 we come to a region of profound calm4 ,this repose does not mean stagnation4 ,ocean's waters are ever on the move1 travelling this way and that way4 ,currents exist far below1 as well as at the surface2 but they are generally slow and placid1 not rough and hurrying4 ,old ,ocean's excitability lies all outside4 ,superficially he is soon upset2 but deep down he is composed4 ,a great deal of discussion has taken place as to possibilities of ,light in those depths4 ,are they black with midnight darkness8 or do faint glimmers of daylight creep through8 ,ocean-water1 like other water1 is transparent4 ,any substance is transparent1 when thin enough1--even gold4 ,a very thin film of water is not1 however1 needed for transparency4 ,many feet1 even many yards1 may be seen through1 if clear and pure4 ,few of us have not1 at one time or another1 looked down from a boat1 to see golden sand1 variegated pebbles1 small fishes swimming about1 at a considerable depth4 ,thus with water1 as with denser materials1 transparency is merely a question of thickness4 ,as the thickness increases1 more and more rays of sunlight are taken captive1 and the water becomes less and less translucent1 till at length1 if we could get deep enough1 we should find ourselves to be surrounded with blackness4 ,another feature of ocean-depths is that of immense pressure4 ,we bear a certain degree of it in that other and lighter ocean--the ,atmosphere4 ,a man of medium size has upon his body about thirty thousand pounds' weight1 or some fifteen pounds to the square inch4 ,but this is nothing to what he would have to endure down in ocean-waters4 ,at a depth of one mile1 an extra ton would be piled upon each square inch of his body2 two miles down1 would mean two extra tons on each square inch2 three miles down1 three extra tons2 and so on4 ,the load would soon become intolerable4 ,for many years scientists maintained that in such depths no life could exist1 since no bodies could withstand the awful pressure4 ,yet we now know that frail jelly-fish1 fragile shell-inhabitants1 do withstand it1 flourishing there by myriads4 ,perhaps the fact was somewhat overlooked1 that the pressure upon a living creature is not only inwards from without1 but also is outwards from within4 ,this is true of ourselves in the ocean of air1 breathing air4 ,it is true of creatures in the ocean of water1 breathing water4 ,much less than the weight of thirty thousand pounds might crush a man flat1 were it not for the resisting pressure from within4 ,if for one instant he could empty his body of all inner air and liquids1 and could so harden his skin that no air should squeeze through its pores1 he would be pressed as flat as a pancake by the surrounding atmosphere4 ,a story has been told1 illustrative of this4 ,once upon a time a clever fellow started an original idea4 ,he proposed to make a balloon1 which should mount skywards1 not from being full of hydrogen gas1 but from being emptied of air4 ,being then lighter than the atmosphere1 it would1 he said1 of course rise4 ,so far as the reasoning went1 it was faultless4 ,it only did not go far enough4 ,the balloon being made1 he named a day for its ascent1 and asked many friends to witness his triumph4 ,at the last moment1 all air was withdrawn2 and everybody waited in expectation1 hoping to see the novel balloon skim lightly above their heads4 ,but the inventor1 while using strong materials1 had failed to make full allowance for the tremendous pressure of the air1 when counteractive pressure from within should have been done away with4 ,as the air was drawn out1 the sides of the balloon collapsed1 being crushed together as an empty egg-shell may be smashed in a boy's hand4 ,instead of soaring gaily upward1 the would-be aeronaut stood on earth1 scanning with disappointed eyes a flattened and useless shell4 ,a diver going down into the sea has a much increased weight upon his body2 but he does not suffer from it to a serious extent1 provided that he is not raised or lowered too fast4 ,much depends upon this4 ,both men and beasts can endure a good deal of alteration in the degree of pressure1 whether from air or from water2 but they cannot bear very abrupt changes4 ,hearts and lungs need time for growing accustomed to a fresh condition4 ,in early days of diving this was not understood1 and some divers lost their lives through being too hurriedly hauled up4 ,the same has been noticed in animals brought quickly from great depths4 ,they have been constantly found in the net or trawl1 dying or dead1 their bodies swollen and even bursting from the lessening of pressure4 ,it was natural that at first the belief should arise of ,life being in those parts impossible4 ,now we know that animals die in the act of being drawn up1 and that they live and flourish in profound depths1 unaffected by the vast load of water4 ,the weight that a man can endure is not to be compared with what fragile sea-creatures thrive under4 ,beyond a depth of some two hundred feet or more1 the pressure becomes too great for any human beings2 yet animals are found at depths of three or four miles4 ,but the fact that man breathes air1 and that animals in the sea breathe1 in a sense1 water1 makes an enormous difference in their power to resist pressure4 ,one might suppose that the terrific weight of miles of water would squeeze lower layers to a smaller bulk4 ,water is1 however1 very difficult to compress2 unlike air4 ,at the bottom of the sea1 four or five miles deep1 the weight is said to be equal to about four tons upon the square inch4 ,if this tremendous load were pressing upon a mass of air1 eleven thousand cubic feet in quantity1 the whole would be crushed together into only twenty-two cubic feet4 ,but the same weight pressing upon the same quantity of sea-water1 would merely reduce its size to ten thousand cubic feet4 ,so there is not much difference between the make of sea-water near the surface and sea-water at a great depth4 ,not only are ocean's depths calm and free from storms2 not only are they black with midnight darkness2 not only are they heavy with the weight of miles of water overhead2 but also for the most part they are cold4 ,changes from season to season1 like changes of weather1 are superficial4 ,at a depth of about six hundred feet1 ,seasons have ceased to be4 ,there1 summer and winter1 autumn and spring1 exist no longer4 ,the dead level of calm and darkness is also a dead level of uniform weather and unalterable climate4 ,where changes of cold and heat do come about1 they are very uncertain1 and usually they are due to other causes than those which bring about the succession of seasons upon ,earth4 ,many remarkable facts have lately come to light with respect to ,ocean's temperatures4 ,in far northern and far southern regions1 near the two poles1 the whole sea is very cold4 ,one might expect the converse of this in tropical regions--a whole sea intensely warm4 ,but this we do not find4 ,the shallower parts--those included in the hundred-fathom limit--may be nearly as warm below as above4 ,when1 however1 deep-sea soundings are made1 when the registering thermometer is despatched on its mission of inquiry miles below the surface1 then the report brought up is generally of great cold4 ,in almost all deeper parts1 the tale is told of a frigid under-layer1--of water nearly and sometimes quite down to the freezing-point of fresh water4 ,this1 not only in ,polar ,seas1 not only in ,temperate ,oceans1 but in the hottest portions of the ,tropics4 ,the ,atlantic1 near the equator1 is icy in its depths4 ,a reckoning has been made that1 if the floor of the whole ocean1 omitting shallower parts1 could be divided into one hundred equal portions1 ninety-two of those portions would be found covered by water at a temperature of less than #dj2 and only eight of them would lie under warm water4 ,the vast mass of the ocean is cold1 with a thin warm layer over certain districts4 ,little doubt can there be that this under-layer is largely fed from polar regions4 ,we know that cold ocean-rivers pour from north-polar regions to the south1 both in the ,atlantic and in the ,pacific4 ,a general creeping under-flow of icy waters towards the equator evidently balances the general surface drift of warm waters towards the poles4 ,since cold water is heavier than warm1 it would naturally find its way to lower depths1 leaving the warm light liquid to float on the top4 ,in the ,mediterranean ,sea a marked contrast is found4 ,there no ice-cold layer is spread over the bottom2 and the water in its uttermost depths--over two miles and a quarter--does not sink below the temperature of #ed ,f4 ,the heat of the sun in ,south ,europe can hardly be compared with the heat of the sun over the ,indian ,ocean4 ,yet the latter has water far below the surface down to at least #ce4 ,practically the ,mediterranean1 despite its depth1 may be looked upon as an inland sea4 ,the one opening which connects it with the open ocean is not only comparatively narrow1 but also is shallow1 being less than two hundred fathoms deep4 ,the water on this dividing ridge remains at about #ee1 and the ,mediterranean throughout1 to its greatest depths1 keeps to about that same degree of warmth4 ,no entrance is afforded to the heavy cold currents from polar regions4 ,the ,red ,sea is separated from the ,indian ,ocean by a similar ridge1 and the same result is seen there4 ,over the floor of the ,indian ,ocean lies a carpet of chill water4 ,but the whole body of the ,red ,sea never sinks1 in summer or winter1 below #gj ,f4 ,here1 too1 the cold streams are not able to surmount the barrier4 ,in many deep mid-ocean hollows1 cut off by surrounding sub-ocean walls of rock1 the same is found again--warm water within the hollow1 cold water on the ocean-bed outside4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,rivers ,,in ,,the ,,sea 8,sinuous or straight1 now rapid and now slow40--,,cowper4 8,as winds that coerce the sea40--,c4 ,g4 ,,rossetti4 ,actual ,rivers in the ,ocean2 distinct streams of water1 flowing over a bed of water1 with banks of water4 ,not merely one or two such rivers1 but scores of them1 hundreds of them1 great and small1 in all parts of the world4 ,chief perhaps in importance is the ,gulf ,stream1 that vast flood which pours out of the ,gulf of ,mexico1 and acts as a winter heating apparatus for the west of ,europe4 ,though by no means the largest of ocean streams1 it is one of the most useful to man4 ,after quitting the ,gulf1 it hurries at speed through the ,straits of ,florida2 then spreads out into a river1 about fifty miles wide and over two thousand feet deep1 journeying at a rate of some sixty miles in twelve hours4 ,for a while it hugs the ,american coast2 but1 happily for ,europe1 it forsakes this friend of its youth1 and wanders to the north-eastward across the ,atlantic4 ,to call it a 8river0 is no mere fiction of speech4 ,near ,halifax the separation between warm and cold water is so sharp1 that those on board a ship may know what latitude they have reached1 on entering or leaving the stream1 by simply dipping a bucket in the water and taking the temperature4 ,literally the ,gulf ,stream is a warm river1 flowing over a bed of cold water1 with cold-water banks4 ,so far as ,cape ,hatteras the stream clings to its early friend2 and after that the ,american coast knows it no more1 being left to the mercies of a very different acquaintance4 ,an icy stream flows southward from the far north1 clinging to the coast of ,north ,america1 while we in western ,europe benefit by the presence of the warm current which travels over to us4 ,this stream has been described as forming a 8cold wall0 to the mild ,gulf ,stream4 ,fan-like1 the ,gulf ,stream spreads as it journeys1 growing gradually wider and wider1 shallower and shallower1 cooler and cooler--yet the last so slowly that1 even off the coast of ,scotland1 water nine hundred fathoms deep is found to be at #dj ,f4 ,how strongly this mass of warm water affects the air above it is well known to sailors4 ,when passing from the stream to the outside ocean1 or from the ocean to the stream1 they often change in a few hours from a warm to a cool or from a cool to a warm climate4 ,the atmosphere is ever ready to tune its mood sympathetically to that of the ocean over which it sweeps4 ,we know well in ,great ,britain that our soft south-west breezes seldom fail to bring us warmth2 though we do not always remember the debt that we owe to our friend the ,gulf ,stream4 ,but for the immense stores of heat carried northward1 and given over to us1 our ,island climate would be different indeed from what it now is4 ,that is why our fellow-subjects in eastern and central ,canada1 living no farther from the equator than we do ourselves1 suffer from an intensity of cold in winter which we never endure4 ,it is difficult to realise that parts of ice-bound ,labrador and of ,canada1 where the thermometer often drops to #dj below zero1 are no farther north than ,london and ,paris2 while ,newfoundland lies actually more to the south than ,erin's green ,isle4 ,turning to the ,pacific ,ocean1 we find there a corresponding river1 again flowing to the north-east4 ,just as the ,gulf ,stream wanders across the ,atlantic1 so this river wanders over the ,pacific1 carrying stores of tropical warmth to opposite coasts4 ,at its quickest1 it is less rapid than the ,gulf ,stream1 and about three times as wide4 ,it too1 as it journeys1 becomes gradually broader1 shallower1 slower1 colder4 ,this 8,kuro ,sivo0 or 8,black ,stream10 so named from its dark colour1 flows outside ,japan1 and then strikes freely for the northern coasts of ,north ,america4 ,and because of its work as a winter heating apparatus in ,alaska1 the humming bird is found at a latitude which1 on the other side of the ,american ,continent1 means1 not the play and whirr of humming-birds in a soft air1 but the disporting of walruses among ice-floes4 ,as in the ,atlantic1 so in the ,pacific1 the warm northward-travelling current is balanced by a cold southward-travelling current4 ,the ,arctic stream of the ,pacific is not so marked as that of the ,atlantic1 perhaps partly because of the much shallower outlet from the ,arctic ,ocean2 still it is quite chilly enough in its effects upon the ,siberian climate4 ,here again the cold stream acts as a 8wall0 to the warm river flowing the other way4 ,more reasons than one may help to explain why these two currents slant off to the eastward instead of pouring due north4 ,the shape of the various coast-lines has something to do with it2 also the presence of ridges and hollows in the ocean-beds1 and the resistance of other contending currents4 ,a river1 either on land or in the sea1 will always travel where it finds least opposition4 ,one main cause1 however1 is the whirl of our ,earth upon its axis4 ,this1 which greatly affects the directions of prevailing winds1 alters also the lines followed by ocean rivers4 ,a current starting from near the equator for the north shares in the rapid rush of the ,earth's surface1 which at the equator spins eastward at a rate of about one thousand miles each hour4 ,as the volume of water gets farther north1 it reaches parts of the ,earth which are whirling more slowly1 while it has not lost much of its own eastward whirl4 ,a sideways flow is the result1 changing the northward into a north-eastward direction4 ,but a stream starting from the far north for the south is affected in the opposite way4 ,near the north pole the ,earth's surface hardly moves at all2 and the southward-flowing current1 being weighted with northern inertia1 takes a contrary course to the current flowing north4 ,it lags more and more behind the faster-revolving surface1 and so wanders westward instead of eastward4 ,or1 if prevented by the land from so doing1 it hugs the coast which hinders it4 ,so the pull of the two great streams in the ,atlantic is exactly opposed1 each to the other4 ,that of the ,gulf ,stream is towards the east2 that of the ,labrador ,stream is towards the west2 and the resolute manner in which the two refuse to mingle may be partly due to this fact4 ,if our ,earth could be made to change the present whirl from west to east1 and to revolve instead from east to west1 those two great currents would alter their directions4 ,the ,gulf ,stream would hug the ,american coasts1 and the ,labrador would find its way over to ,europe4 ,then the ,british ,isles in winter would know a temperature of #cj or #dj below zero1 and the ,canadians would experience soft damp winters and moderate summers4 ,perhaps they would no more welcome the exchange than we should4 ,then1 too1 the ,black ,stream would cling to the ,asiatic side1 transforming the climate of western ,siberia1 and the cold ,arctic river would put a speedy end to humming-birds in ,alaska4 ,but abundance of ice floes would soon be awaiting the walruses which would have to emigrate from the other side of the continent4 ,a good deal of discussion has been held as to whether we do truly owe our mildness to the ,gulf ,stream alone1 or whether that ,gulf ,stream is merely part of a general northward movement of ,atlantic waters from the tropics towards the pole4 ,the question has been warmly contested2 and no doubt on both sides1 as generally is the case1 truth has been mixed with error4 ,the ,gulf ,stream cannot be viewed as a separate entity4 ,its very birth in the ,gulf of ,mexico depends on a great mass of water ever flowing from the south-east into the ,caribbean ,sea4 ,since so much water pours in1 the same volume must pour out1 and as it does so it gains the name of the 8,gulf ,stream40 ,but after quitting the ,gulf of ,mexico the stream does not exist alone4 ,it becomes a leading part of the ,north ,atlantic circulation4 ,the whole surface of that ocean is slowly turning round and round--8whirling as if stirred in the direction of the hands of a watch10#a and the ,gulf ,stream occupies one side or more of the vast maelstrm4 ,in the centre of this revolving mass of water lies a district where the motion is slight1 and at that centre floats an enormous collection of drift and sea-weed called the ,sargasso ,sea4 #a ,dr4 ,h4 ,r4 ,mill4 ,suppose we pour some water in a large basin1 drop into it a handful of small leaves and chips1 and make the whole spin gently with one hand4 ,we shall then see how the chips and leaves will collect at the centre1 and will float there1 almost stationary4 ,that is what happens1 on a large scale1 in the ,north ,atlantic ,ocean4 ,other ,oceans also have this steady circular movement1 not of the whole body of water1 but of the surface-water1 down to a greater or less depth--precisely how deep one cannot say2 it lessens gradually with increasing depth4 ,the same is found also in the ,south ,atlantic1 in the ,north and ,south ,pacific1 and doubtless in the ,indian ,ocean4 ,to find its direction in any part1 one need only lay a watch1 face upwards1 upon a map of the ,north ,atlantic or the ,north ,pacific4 ,in both cases the water travels round with the watch-hands4 ,in the ,south ,atlantic and the ,south ,pacific the flow is just in the opposite direction4 ,so both the ,gulf ,stream and the ,black ,stream are merely parts of a big oceanic whirlpool4 ,each ocean on ,earth has its own system of circulation2 and that system is part of a world-wide system4 ,the waters are in perpetual and complicated motion4 ,streams pour incessantly hither and thither1 to north and south1 to east and west4 ,two vast streams1 known as the ,equatorial ,currents1 nominally pour round the world1 but really are best seen in the open ,pacific1 where for long distances no land meddles with their career4 ,they flow steadily westward1 one to the north and one to the south of the equator4 ,between them flows a reverse stream1 called the 8,equatorial ,counter ,current40 ,if a certain amount of water travels north1 an equal quantity must travel south4 ,or if1 as in this case1 so much water runs in a westerly direction1 a corresponding amount has to run in an easterly direction4 ,water may be marvellously piled up here or there1 by influences of land or of wind1 but it cannot remain piled up1 without efforts on the part of the ocean to restore the equilibrium4 ,were the whole ,earth covered by a single unbroken sheet of water1 these drift currents might circle round and round the globe for ever1 undisturbed in their working4 ,but the ,earth has lands as well as oceans2 and when a current strikes a coast its course is altered1 part at least being turned in a fresh direction4 ,much discussion has taken place about the causes which bring these great ,drift ,currents into being4 ,disturbing elements1 many in number1 may have had a hand in the matter4 ,so soon as one part of the sea-surface becomes warmer than another part1 movements are set going2 the heavy cold water sinks1 the light warm water rises1 and streams are started from the one place to the other4 ,there are also countless rivers pouring into the ocean1 each helping to upset its equilibrium4 ,heavy downpours of rain raise the level of the sea here or there1 inducing more currents4 ,but these are lesser causes4 ,it is now recognised1 as a fact beyond question1 that the main power in starting and sustaining ocean-currents is that of ,wind4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,of ,,wind ,,and ,,water 8,he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind1 which lifteth up the waves thereof40--,,psalm cvii4 #bj4 8,measure me a measure of wind40--#b ,,esdras4 ,over the great ,deep of blue water lies the greater ,deep of blue air4 ,and between these two--the ,ocean of ,air and the ,ocean of ,water1 both dragged earthward by the perpetual pull of gravitation--endless intercourse takes place4 ,each finds its way in small fragments into the other4 ,there is always water present in the air4 ,there is always air present in the water4 ,perhaps the latter fact is not so widely recognised as the former2 yet it is equally true4 ,sea-water contains large supplies of dissolved gases1 absorbed by the ocean-surface from the atmosphere1 and passed on into lower depths1 for the use of creatures living there4 ,but the presence of water in air is known to us all4 ,when we casually remark1 8,what a damp day it is60 we mean1 8,what an amount of water to-day is in the atmosphere60 ,water-vapour1 drawn up from ,ocean's broad bosom1 is carried far and wide 8on the wings of the wind10 to fall as rain where needed2 and drying winds in their turn pass over regions where much rain has fallen1 to bear away superfluous moisture4 ,a good deal was said in the last chapter about oceanic currents2 and mention was made of ,winds as their chief cause4 ,that the power of wind over water is great1 anybody may know who has watched the lashing of the ocean into fury by a gale4 ,but the degree of that power was scarcely grasped1 until within the last few years4 ,rivers and streams in the sea were long ascribed to any cause1 except the most weighty of all4 ,no one supposed the immense current-producing force to be that of ,wind--not of mere local breezes or gales here and there1 but of strong constant winds1 which prevail month after month over wide ocean-districts4 ,when a storm-wind pours up a narrowing gulf1 where the sea has no outlet1 it often piles the water up in an extraordinary manner4 ,hurricanes have been known to turn the entire ,gulf ,stream for a while out of its course1 and even to force the waters back so as actually to reverse the current4 ,once the volume of water1 thus checked by a terrific gale1 was heaped up some thirty feet above the proper level1 which of course caused a fearful deluging of the land4 ,the above words had not been long written1 when papers told us of the awful hurricane of ,september1 #aijj1 in ,u4,s4 ,texas4 ,a deep cyclone passed over the devoted town of ,galveston1 the direction of the wind suddenly changing as the centre of the cyclone went by3 and the heaped-up waters from either side coming together poured their united volume over the land4 ,that was a flood which 8turned the city into a raging sea40 ,buildings were levelled2 houses fell like packs of cards2 vessels were carried miles inland2 men and women and children perished by thousands4 ,when the lessening wind allowed the waters to retire1 an inch-deep layer of slime was found over everything4 ,such facts as these help to show how vast is the power of moving air over the ocean4 ,as a strong wind blows1 the upper layer of water slips along in obedience to its push2 and fresh lower surfaces are bared to the same influence4 ,also1 the movement of the upper layer tends to drag on the layer just below1 which again affects the one lower still4 ,by influence thus exerted and passed from one to another1 the result of a long-continued wind-pressure in one direction is to set going powerful streams1 which in the first instance were due chiefly or only to wind4 ,round the ,earth1 where fairly open sea permits them to develop1 are two wide belts of very persistent winds--the ,trades--which remain practically the same all the year round2 only shifting their limits with the changing seasons4 ,they blow from the north-east and from the south-east slanting towards the equator4 ,so1 speaking roughly1 they are easterly winds travelling towards the west4 ,as a consequence of their steady pressure1 we have the great ,equatorial ,current of the tropics1 pouring from east to west in two halves1 north and south of the equator4 ,this vast ocean-river1 started and kept going by the trade-winds1 has been described in the more important part of its course as a 8magnificent surface-current of hot water1 four thousand miles long by four hundred and fifty broad10 moving 8at an average rate of thirty miles a day0--and1 it may be added1 at least over six hundred feet in depth4 ,between the ,trade-wind belts is a belt of dead calms1 known to sailors as 8,the ,doldrums40 ,this belt divides in two the ,equatorial ,current2 and in it is found the inevitable 8,counter ,current10 mentioned earlier1 flowing from west to east4 ,another belt of steadfast winds is that of the 8,roaring ,forties10 in the ,southern ,ocean2 a wide stretch of all but landless sea1 between #dj and #ej south latitude4 ,these 8,brave ,west ,winds10 as they are called1 being again the reverse of the easterly ,trades1 blow all the year round1 and nearly all the world round1 since only the southern extremity of ,south ,america interferes with them4 ,they too give birth to a powerful current1 flowing from west to east2 and this mighty stream1 almost encircling the ,earth1 has a mission to fulfil4 ,already it has been said that each lesser ocean in the world has its own separate circulation-system4 ,this southern stream1 with the ,roaring ,forties for its parent1 has for its especial task to unite all those smaller systems into one4 ,it has to refuse to the minor oceans a lonely and self-absorbed policy1 and to insist on the great truth of a world-wide ,ocean unity4 ,it has to carry gifts from the ,pacific to the ,atlantic1 from the ,atlantic to the ,indian1 from the ,indian to the ,pacific again4 ,it has to despatch streams northward into more distant regions1 with messages of goodwill to all4 ,is this somewhat imaginative8 ,well1 be it so4 ,the facts are scientifically true4 ,suggested meanings1 gathered therefrom1 may be accepted or rejected1 according to the reader's pleasure4 ,we see1 at all events1 that from the vast ,drift-,currents of the ,ocean1 born of the ,winds1 spring the ,grandchildren of the ,winds1 such powerful rivers as the ,gulf ,stream and the ,black ,stream2 they in their turn giving birth to an infinite number of lesser currents1 ,great-grandchildren of the ,winds2--one and all taking their share in a world-wide circulation of ,ocean-waters4 ,the southern belt of westerly winds1 with its resulting westerly current1 would be repeated in the northern hemisphere1 but for the presence of great masses of land4 ,continents work havoc with schemes of ocean circulation4 ,that westerly winds do greatly prevail in corresponding latitudes to the north is a well-known fact1 though we cannot boast the possession of anything like the 8,roaring ,forties40 ,no broad belts of unchanging air-currents can exist in the neighbourhood of so much land1 for the counter-influences are too many4 ,from steadfast ,wind-belts1 giving birth to steadfast ,ocean-streams1 we pass naturally to those fitful storms which lash the ocean into passing passions1 and to the uncertain breezes of temperate climes4 ,there are currents and counter-currents1 breezes and contrary breezes1 winds from north and south and east and west1 over the whole earth4 ,each separate movement of air helps to stir the waters of the sea into renewed restlessness4 ,though few things are more wonderful than those vast rivers of air and water1 pouring always in the same direction1 century after century1 they are perhaps less impressive from a man's point of view than many a mere whirling eddy1 which flings itself along1 rousing a huge flurry of water1 and soon dying out of existence4 ,a man cannot grasp as a whole the ,trades or the ,roaring ,forties1 with their companion ocean rivers4 ,practically he knows only that little portion of each which happens to be near his ship4 ,if he is overtaken by a hurricane1 the whole life of which is compressed into a few miles of space and a few hours of time1 he feels a greater awe4 ,small wonder that he should4 ,those impetuous and short-lived eddies are terrible in their fury4 ,their winds blow with a fierceness never approached by the stiffest ,trade4 ,a hurricane1 tearing over ,earth's surface at the rate of one hundred and twenty miles an hour1 reduces the most muscular of men to helplessness4 ,none the less1 such a hurricane is in itself a mere accident1 a mere passing incident1 a mere swirl of air1 coming into being to adjust a lost balance1 and vanishing so soon as its work is done4 ,we have seen tiny swirls of air dancing along the road1 on a windy day1 sweeping up bits of straw or dried leaves into their embrace4 ,such little swirls are hurricanes in miniature4 ,the real thing levels forests1 wrecks towns1 lashes the ocean into mountainous heights of water1 sinks gallant ships1 destroys human lives4 ,yet the little swirl and the hurricane are closely akin4 ,only in recent years has the circular--more strictly1 the oval--shape of a hurricane become known4 ,it may be described as a revolving eddy of air1 the winds pouring in a corkscrew-like fashion round the centre1 inwards from without1 and upwards from within4 ,another kind of air-eddy1 called an anti-cyclone1 gyrates just the other way1 downward and outward4 ,this usually brings light winds and dry weather1 instead of storms and rain4 ,one might imagine that in the centre of a wild cyclone a ship could find safety1 because there calm reigns4 ,but the furious whirl of winds all around raises tumultuous billows2 and towards the centre1 although the winds themselves die down1 the state of the sea is a perfect 8chaos0 of tempestuous waves converging from all sides4 ,sailors strive their utmost to avoid that central chaos4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,an ,,ocean ,,of ,,azure 8,the boom of the waves on the shingle40--,,lewis ,,morris4 8,roll on1 thou deep and dark-blue ,ocean1 roll60--,,byron4 ,not that the ,ocean is always and everywhere blue4 ,in a certain 8arm of the sea10 the ,bristol ,channel1 it is commonly any tint that you please rather than blue--brown1 green1 yellow1 chocolate1 only not the colour that we love4 ,if by chance it dons for a few hours a robe of azure1 that robe is merely a passing loan from the sky4 ,and in dull weather it can only be described as a huge puddle of muddy liquid4 ,people often grow to like best that to which they are accustomed4 ,a lady1 who had spent most of her life on the borders of that brown ,channel1 once assured me that she infinitely preferred it to the 8deep blue sea40 ,she had been to stay by the latter1 and had found its monotony of tint so uninteresting that she was charmed to get back to her old friend4 ,tastes differ1 certainly4 ,not many would agree with her4 ,yet it is a fact that the great ,turner went to the ,bristol ,channel1 with all its mud1 for many of his marvellous sea and cloud effects4 8,deeply1 darkly1 beautifully blue10 sang ,byron of the ocean1 and he sang truly1 even though the ocean itself1 putting aside the ,bristol ,channel1 is not always and uniformly azure4 ,near land the tint is often greenish4 ,sometimes it is pure green4 ,often it is a pale and watery blue4 ,at other times we have a leaden grey4 ,the genuine ocean-blue1 which resembles nothing else on ,earth1 can seldom be enjoyed till one gets on really deep water1 far from land4 ,or--till one is looking at the ,mediterranean4 ,why should the sea be blue8 ,and why should the sky be blue8 ,for the matter of that1 why should anything be blue8 ,what do we mean by colour8--whether blue or green1 red or yellow8 ,we mean that particular tint--or sensation--which the object in question causes us to see--or feel4 ,the object receives sunlight1 and reflects it to our eyes4 ,and since sunlight is white or yellowish-white1 one might expect that everything we look upon would appear to us white or yellowish-white4 ,but everything does not4 ,and the reason is that a ray of sunlight is really a bundle of lesser rays1 each of which has its own colour4 ,if a ray of light is made to pass through a prism1 these lesser sub-rays are spread out upon wall or floor1 always in the same order1 from violet at one end to red at the other end4 ,light is believed to be due to enormous numbers of most minute wavelets2 and for each colour the wavelets have a definite but different size4 ,they are smallest at the violet end1 and largest at the red end4 ,now when a ray of sunlight falls upon anything--leaf or flower1 earth or water--some of the sub-rays are absorbed or taken in1 and some are rejected or refused admission4 ,a healthy leaf1 for instance1 absorbs the red1 the yellow1 the blue1 the violet1 and refuses the green1 which is therefore thrown back from the leaf-surface to our eyes1 making it green to us4 ,a ripe tomato absorbs the yellow and green1 the blue and violet1 and reflects the red4 ,a lump of blacklead absorbs greedily all the rays1 reflecting none1 and so to our eyes it is black or without colour4 ,the petals of a white rose1 on the contrary1 absorb so little colour of any kind1 that practically the entire ray is sent again to us as white light4 ,if this is the manner in which the ocean is blue1 it means that sea-water1 and indeed water generally1 must in itself be actually blue1 as a cake of ultramarine1 a sapphire1 a corn-flower1 a forget-me-not1 are blue4 ,could that be the case8 ,for a long while men decisively answered--,no4 ,everybody knew that water was colourless1 so the idea was flung aside as impossible4 ,another explanation came up instead4 ,the sea is full of fine dust2 and it was suggested that1 as vast multitudes of these floating dust-particles are exceedingly small1 they might be able to reflect only the smaller blue light-waves1 and not the larger yellow or the still larger red waves4 ,thus the sea would naturally seem to be blue4 ,after much discussion1 careful experiments were made4 ,different objects were lowered to various depths1 and the effect upon their colouring was noted4 ,the outcome of these and other tests went far to prove that the old certainty was wrong1 and that water is in itself blue4 ,somebody may feel inclined to protest4 8,water blue6 ,but that is out of the question4 ,i have good sight1 and ,i assure you there isn't the least sign of colour in water4 ,not the faintest4 ,if you dip a bucket in the sea1 you will see for yourself40 ,yet all the while the colour may be there1 actually existent1 though not to be detected by your eyes or mine in a pailful4 ,a short time ago ,i had to buy a piece of lace2 and my intention was to choose a pale straw or deep cream4 ,the lace was wound in many folds round a large cardboard1 and it seemed to be exactly the right hue--a rich yellow-cream1 almost butter colour4 ,without further demur1 ,i ordered about a yard to be cut off4 ,on reaching home1 ,i found myself in possession of a piece of wide dead-white lace--or all but dead-white4 ,it was actually a very pale cream2 and when a great many folds lay one over another the combined effect was rich and yellow4 ,but a single thickness of the material showed no colouring4 ,the same may be seen with a single piece of very pale blue muslin4 ,it will appear to be white4 ,but yards upon yards of the same1 folded together1 will become quite a deep blue4 ,a single thin layer of ocean-water1 in like manner1 has too faint a hue to be visible to ordinary eyesight4 ,it is only when layers are piled upon layers that the blue becomes distinct2 and the deeper the water1 the deeper generally will be the colour4 ,some yards of water-thickness may be said to correspond to a single thickness of lace or muslin4 ,while1 however1 we may say with tolerable confidence that the blue of the ocean is a 8,true ,blue10 this alone will not explain all the varieties of tinting1 seen at different times and in different places4 ,sea-water is sometimes a rich profound blue1 and sometimes a pale sickly blue4 ,it is sometimes dull1 sometimes brilliant4 ,it is sometimes green1 and sometimes almost black4 ,for these variations1 even while accepting the new explanation1 it has been found needful to revert to the old theory in quest of added help4 ,the sea is blue1 because it really and truly is blue4 ,but that is not all4 ,it is a deeper or less deep blue1 a duller or brighter blue1 a greenish blue or even a dull yellow1 because of the vast supplies of dust floating in it4 ,the ,mediterranean was particularly examined1 on account of its remarkable depth and brilliancy of colouring2 and it was found to be exceptionally laden with dust1 both fine and coarse1 brought from land by innumerable rivers1 and also pounded by breaking waves on the long surrounding coast-lines4 ,such floating particles1 at all events the bigger ones1 are no longer supposed1 as once they were1 to reflect only the tiny blue light-waves4 ,on the contrary1 they are believed to reflect all the waves of light indiscriminately1 whether large or small2 while the sea1 by virtue of its own power as a ,blue material1 captures all those reflected waves except the blue1 and allows the latter alone to reach our eyes4 ,near ,british shores the water has often a strongly green tint2 and this may be due in part to floating particles of sand4 ,the yellow of the sand1 combining with the blue of the water1 would naturally form green4 ,possibly also the sea1 near shore1 is sometimes affected in colour by floating sea-weeds1 green-tinted4 ,the blue of the sky is often reflected on the sea-surface1 and sometimes so powerfully as to overcome the real ocean-colour4 ,one hardly understands how intense such a sky-reflection may be1 until one has watched the whole sea transformed into glowing crimson or gold from a radiant sunset4 ,much the same perplexity has been felt about the blue colour of air1 as about the blue colour of the ocean2 and much the same course of explanation has been followed4 ,its blueness was long maintained to be due only or mainly to the 8scattering of sunlight0 by infinite numbers of floating dust-specks1 which also serve to account for the golden and crimson tints of sunset4 ,it now appears that oxygen1 an important element in the atmosphere1 has a faint blue tint of its own1 like water1 which at least helps to answer for the blue of the air4 ,we may therefore say of ,water that it is believed to be transparently and intrinsically blue2 and that its colour1 though not actually due to floating specks of dust and other impurities1 is a good deal affected by them4 ,such materials in the ,ocean help to modify its colouring1 sometimes deepening it1 sometimes adding to its brilliance1 sometimes deadening its brightness1 sometimes turning it green or yellow4 ,careful observation has also shown that1 when water is especially free from dust-specks1 it is of a darker and duller hue than when they are present in large quantities to capture and reflect the sunbeams4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,ice-,,needles ,,to ,,ice-,,mountains 8,in all time1 ,calm or convulsed1--in breeze or gale or storm1 ,icing the pole1 or in the torrid clime ,dark-heaving2--boundless1 endless1 and sublime-- ,the image of ,eternity1--the throne ,of the ,invisible40--,,byron4 ,so far most of our thoughts have been given to ,earth's milder regions2 where1 indeed1 the warm ocean water is at best but a thin slice laid over vast depths of cold water1 yet where1 so far as man is concerned1 heat has the upper hand4 ,in other parts1 far to north and south1 the ,reign of ,frost is a dire reality2 and that chill monarch 8rules the roost0 in a masterful fashion1 lording it over land and sea for months together1 with none to resist his sway4 ,wherever ,king ,frost waves his sceptre1 one result always follows4 ,water changes from a liquid to a solid4 ,nor is water the only liquid which so changes4 ,quicksilver1 known to us usually as a liquid1 may be frozen1 though not without a greater amount of cold than that which freezes water4 ,then1 again1 molten iron--that is1 iron made soft through great heat--is a liquid which when cold hardens into a solid4 ,iron as we most often see it is simply in its frozen state2 just as much the frozen form of iron as ice is the frozen form of water4 ,and the freezing of the two comes about in the same mode4 ,as molten iron cools and hardens it crystallizes4 ,minute needles1 far too minute to be seen1 take shape1 crossing and re-crossing at various angles1 till the whole becomes a solid mass of interlaced iron needles1 held in position by attraction4 ,when water changes into ice1 the same thing happens4 ,the water-particles shape themselves into tiny needles1 and these ice-needles cross and re-cross1 till they are knitted into a compact mass1 something like the mass of iron needles4 ,nor are needles alone found in ice4 ,exquisite forms resembling ice-flowers are there also1 commonly invisible1 but composed of ice-needles woven into various shapes1 which again are woven into the fabric of the solid ice4 ,so a block of ice may perhaps be said to be formed of ice-flowers1 and the ice-flowers to be formed of ice-needles4 ,such flowers are of many shapes1 but more generally they have six petals each4 ,if a ray of sunlight is thrown upon a slab of ice1 through a lens1 so as to concentrate the heat1 then1 as the ice melts1 the sparkling of these tiny florets can be seen2 and when their magnified image is cast upon a sheet1 the six-petalled flowers become clearly visible4 ,even more beautiful than the ice-flowers embedded in solid ice are the ice-flowers embedded in snow4 ,they too are made of tiny spicules or needles of ice2 and they too1 while varying much in shape1 are commonly six-petalled4 ,solid blocks of ice are at first sight so unlike masses of feathery snow that a child would be surprised to hear a snowflake spoken of as 8ice40 ,yet the difference between the two lies mainly in the arrangement of the little ice-needles1 in the way they are put together4 ,those of hard ice are more densely packed2 those of snow are more loosely joined1 with open spaces between1 full of air4 ,it is the abundance of air1 mixed in with ice-needles1 catching and reflecting light1 which gives to snow its whiteness4 ,in some cases1 however1 as with glacier-ice1 the texture is so close--like that of glass--that neither flowers nor needles are discernible4 ,the fact that snow may be1 through hard pressure1 actually transformed into firm ice--and this is an everyday occurrence in the high ,alps--shows how closely akin the two are4 ,every country in the world has1 at a certain height1 that which is called 8the line of perpetual snow10 or1 more briefly1 8the snow-line40 ,below that limit snow may fall in winter1 and water may freeze1 but both vanish in the summer4 ,above that limit snow and ice are found all the year round1 lessening to some extent in summer months1 but never disappearing4 ,over the equator the snow-line is about sixteen thousand feet high1 or higher than ,mont ,blanc2 so if ,mont ,blanc were situated on the equator it would not be a snow-clad mountain4 ,at the north and south poles the snow-line is down at the sea-level4 ,summer warmth there does not suffice to get rid of winter ice and snow4 ,between the equator and the poles the snow-line varies in each country1 according to that country's position and climate4 ,above the snow-line on lofty ,swiss mountains heavy falls add perpetually to the mass of snow4 ,during the summer a certain degree of thawing goes on1 but never anything like enough to balance the wintry additions4 ,exactly at the snow-line the quantity of snow which falls and the quantity which thaws in the year are about equal4 ,lower down the yearly thawing exceeds the yearly snowfall4 ,but if1 above that line1 more snow is being added year by year than can thaw and flow away1 must it not be that those mountains which wear perpetual snow are always growing higher8 ,it certainly would be so if the snow heaped upon those summits had no other outlet1 no other means of escape to the ,ocean--the goal of all ,earth's waters4 ,but another mode of escape is found4 ,superabundant snow on mountain heights gets away by means of glaciers4 ,we have had to think about liquid rivers flowing in the ocean1 and here are solid rivers flowing on the land4 ,liquid rivers with liquid banks2 solid rivers with solid banks4 ,a curious anomaly in either case4 ,the higher levels of land are drained by rivers pouring down to lower levels and thence into the sea2 and it is the same with the mighty snowfields of ,switzerland as with any gentle range of ,english hills1 only here we have rivers of ice instead of rivers of water4 ,but why not rivers of snow1 if a glacier means the draining away of snowfields8 ,well1 so they are--rivers of snow4 ,but the heavy weight of overlying snow above1 and the great pressure of descending masses later1 welds the light and delicate snow into hard ice4 ,those tiny needles1 of which the falling snow was made1 are crushed closer and closer1 till they form a solid block1 which loses all resemblance to snow4 ,in summer the melting of the surface by day1 and its freezing again by night1 help forward this transformation4 ,thus a glacier is literally an ,ice-,river1 a huge long tongue of ice1 squeezed from beneath snowfields1 and creeping down a valley4 ,such rivers vary much in size4 ,some of the ,swiss glaciers are between twenty and thirty miles long1 in parts two or three miles wide1 and often hundreds of feet deep4 ,starting above the snow-line they sometimes reach thousands of feet below it1 the milder air failing to end their existence sooner4 ,so enormous are the ice-masses1 that not all the strength of the summer sun can make away with them4 ,of course1 each square yard in turn does melt1 and does help to feed the river of water which rushes away from the lower end of the glacier--sooner or later to reach the ocean4 ,switzerland's grandest glaciers dwindle into insignificance beside the enormous ice-rivers of the frozen north4 ,when the 8,humboldt ,glacier0 of ,greenland gets to the ocean it is about forty-five miles in width4 ,a generous gift of water indeed1 from land to ocean4 ,another monster glacier ends in a cliff of solid ice1 rising in parts to four hundred feet of height4 ,greenland lies under one unbroken shield of snow and ice2 and the weight of this tremendous 8ice-cap0 presses out numberless rivers of ice from its shores into the sea4 ,these do not1 like ,alpine glaciers1 end in rivers of water1 flowing through milder climates to the ocean4 ,the ,greenland glaciers themselves reach the sea1 each thrusting an enormous 8foot0 far into deep water4 ,for a while1 as it does so1 the glacier-ice holds firmly together in a solid mass1 gliding slowly over the ocean-bed1 getting deeper and deeper1 till only a small part of it shows above the surface4 ,but ice naturally floats4 ,the upward pressure of the sea becomes increasingly great1 fighting against the tenacity of the ice1 and in the end old ,ocean has the best of the contest4 ,a huge mass of ice snaps off from the glacier-foot and springs to the surface1 making the waters seethe and swirl with the shock1 and sending heavy waves in all directions4 ,then the buoyant mass floats away as a newly made ,iceberg4 ,some ,icebergs1 broken thus from a ,greenland glacier1 are two or three hundred feet high4 ,that is to say1 a sailor on board a ship can see two or three hundred feet of solid ice above the surface of the sea4 ,but this is by no means the true iceberg height4 ,when we talk of ice 8floating10 we do not mean that the whole piece of ice rests upon the top of the water4 ,it floats in the water4 ,only about one-eighth of it is visible above1 and the other seven-eighths are hidden below4 ,so in the case of an iceberg rising two or three hundred feet above the sea1 we may be sure that at least seven times as much ice is underneath the ocean-surface4 ,this shows what an enormous mass the whole of a floating ice-mountain must be4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,iceberg1 ,,showing ,,the ,,section ,,under ,,water ,for every cubic foot of ice above water there are seven cubic feet below ,face page #hf ,no wonder that a certain iceberg1 which held its head one hundred and fifty feet high1 should have run aground in water five hundred feet deep6 ,no wonder1 either1 that when two such bergs come together1 and an unfortunate ship happens to lie between1 it should be smashed like an egg-shell4 ,in ,baffin's ,bay ,dr4 ,kane once counted a pack of two hundred and eighty bergs1 most of them being between two and three hundred feet high4 ,the 8birth0 of such oceanic hills has been watched by travellers1 at the moment of their breaking off from a glacier-foot1 with no small interest1 and also with no small danger1 if they chanced to be within reach of the terrific billows started by such an event4 ,sometimes icebergs come into existence differently4 ,if the glacier comes to an end1 not in but above the sea1 the mass breaks off above with its own weight1 and plunges downward1 to float away on its new career4 ,this was lately witnessed in far southern seas1 and the travellers barely escaped with their lives1 so tremendous was the rush of the ocean-wave following the plunge of the new mountain4 ,a great deal of carrying work is done by icebergs4 ,many and many a block of stone or rock--not to speak of supplies of gravel and sand and mud--is borne by them to mid-ocean1 and there dropped4 ,in the ,atlantic they seldom get further south than the neighbourhood of ,newfoundland4 ,as they journey1 they slowly weep and trickle out of existence4 ,in the ,antarctic both glaciers and icebergs are abundant4 ,the northern bergs are generally higher and more sharply peaked2 the southern bergs of a flatter shape1 but much larger and of a deeper blue4 ,sea-water does not freeze so quickly as fresh water4 ,on account of the salt which it contains1 it does not become solid until it is four degrees colder than fresh water needs to be4 ,the freezing-point of fresh water is #cb ,f42 that of salt water is #bh ,f4 ,as ocean-water freezes1 most of the salt is separated from it2 and the ice formed is practically fresh1 though often it holds unfrozen salt water in tiny hollows4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,receiving--,,to ,,give ,,again 8,o end to which our currents tend1 ,inevitable ,sea60--,a4 ,h4 ,,clough4 8,all the rivers run into the sea2 yet the sea is not full40 ,so wrote the wisest of men1 long centuries ago2 and the words are true in a world-wide sense1 which the writer with all his wisdom could not then have fully grasped4 8,all the rivers0 meant to him a great many streams1 large and small1 in southern ,asia1 and in southern ,europe1 with some in northern ,africa4 8,all the rivers0 of the world now---- ,let us see what it means4 ,the chief work of a river is to drain the land2 to bear superfluous waters into the great deep4 ,water lying stagnant on land becomes harmful4 ,immense supplies are perpetually needed2 but it must be fresh water1 clear water1 running water1 water newly fallen from the skies1 or newly received from ever fresh because ever renewed springs4 ,never stagnant water4 ,so ,earth's rivers--we are talking of land-rivers now--gathering to themselves the multitude of lesser streams and tributaries1 which in their turn have been earlier fed by an infinite number of burns and runnels in country and town1 hurry downward to the ,ocean1 with rich presents from the ,land4 ,but all the while1 ,land expects 8to receive as much again40 ,when we stand beside a broad river1 watching the steady flow1 hearing the little murmurs of sound and the soft suck and 8swish0 against the banks1 we do not often realise the greatness of the task which that river may have in hand4 ,suppose we are on the banks of the ,seine1 the mother-stream of gay ,paris4 ,many a century has ,paris lived2 but the ,seine existed countless centuries before ,paris was ever heard of4 ,year by year the ,seine drains away surplus water from some twenty-three thousand square miles of ,french territory4 ,year by year the ,seine carries down to the ,ocean a gift of more than five cubic miles of water4 ,five hundred cubic miles in the course of a century6 ,or suppose we turn to the ,rhine1 that river of castles and legends1 which starts with the meltings of over one hundred and fifty glaciers1 and is said to be fed in its course by something like twelve thousand lesser streams4 ,the ,rhine drains1 at the very least1 between thirty and forty thousand square miles of country2 and it pays to the ,ocean an annual tribute of more than ten cubic miles of water4 ,more than a thousand cubic miles each hundred years4 ,let us take a look at the ,yangtsekiang--a ,chinese river of special interest for ,british trade4 ,it drains over six hundred and fifty thousand square miles of land2 and each year it hands over to the ,ocean more than one hundred and twenty-five cubic miles of water4 ,see the ,mississippi4 ,more than a million square miles of ,american territory are drained by it2 and its annual gift to the ,ocean amounts1 like that of the great ,chinese river1 to over one hundred and twenty-five cubic miles of water4 ,or once more--take the ,amazon4 ,by that mighty stream more than two million square miles of land are drained2 and more than five hundred cubic miles of water are poured annually into the sea4 ,so the ,amazon presents to the ,ocean in the course of a year what the ,seine presents in the course of a century4 ,it has been reckoned that 8all the rivers0 of ,earth combined pour every year into the sea a mass of water equal to about six thousand five hundred cubic miles4 ,this would suffice to fill a vast tank1 one mile broad1 one mile deep1 reaching the whole way from the north of ,scotland to the south of ,africa4 8,all the rivers run into the sea2 yet the sea is not full40 ,it does not overflow its limits4 ,and long ago as ,king ,solomon wrote these words1 he was able to give the reason4 8,unto the place from whence the rivers come1 thither they return again40 ,the ocean receives these generous gifts from the land1 only to be generous in return4 ,that which the ocean freely accepts she gives again1 lavishly and royally4 ,enormous supplies of water are needed on land1 and it is the work of the ocean to meet that need4 ,throughout the world1 and especially within the tropics1 a constant drying up of the sea-surface is going on4 ,this passing away of visible water out of sight is1 like countless other everyday events1 very extraordinary2 though we think nothing of it because of its familiarity4 ,a tumbler of water is spilt upon a boarded floor4 8,oh1 never mind10 says a careless voice4 8,it will soon dry up40 ,yes1 of course it will2 and who troubles himself to think what the 8drying up0 means8 ,particle by particle the spilt water will creep softly away1 not as a liquid but as a vapour1 into the atmosphere1 there to float1 hidden from sight1 and to be carried hither and thither wherever the air may be moving4 ,had such a thing never been seen before1 it would arouse the wonderment of every thoughtful mind in ,europe4 ,but miracles of daily occurrence cease to be miracles4 ,some few solids1 such as camphor1 have the same property of passing slowly out of sight into the air1 though it is a much slower process with camphor than with water4 ,snow and ice also1 when there is no thaw1 dry off gradually4 ,i have known a whole slight fall of snow disappear thus1 without any thaw4 ,vapour is always present in the air2 sometimes a large amount1 as much as the atmosphere is able at that particular temperature to hold2 sometimes a less amount1 not so much as the air could contain4 ,in the latter case 8drying0 goes on briskly2 in the former case it languishes1 and wet clothes1 wet pavements1 remain long damp4 ,warm air can hide away a much more abundant supply of vapour than cold air2 so the hotter and drier the air1 the quicker is the evaporation or drying-up of water-surfaces4 ,this is remarkably seen in the ,red ,sea4 ,an amount of water passes away from that sea in a single year1 sufficient to bring down its level some fifteen or twenty feet1--which it would do1 but for a powerful current always flowing in from the ,indian ,ocean4 ,when sea-water thus passes off in vapour1 it leaves the salt behind4 ,were this amount of evaporation to go on steadily in the ,red ,sea1 without any fresh supplies of water being received1 about two thousand years would suffice to dry up the whole ,sea1 nothing but a great mass of salt remaining in its bed4 ,if the ,red ,sea alone loses in one year a slice of water1 fifteen or twenty feet thick1 imagine what the enormous quantity must be which is raised1 year by year1 from the surfaces of all tropical oceans1 and in a less degree from the seas in colder regions4 ,the weight of the whole could only be told in hundreds of millions of millions of tons4 ,and this vast mass is drawn up1 gently and mildly1 particle by particle2 to be wafted by breezes to regions where water is urgently required1 and there to be poured down as rain upon the thirsty ground4 ,thus the great exchange is carried on1 with steady sequence1 between ,land and ,ocean1 ,ocean and ,land4 ,when showers come to gladden the hearts of our farmers1 and to provide food for the people1 they might sometimes give a thought to the ,ocean--to the manner in which1 with ,sun and ,air as helpers1 he sends aloft millions of tons of water1 for the use of those on land4 ,for 8unto the place from whence the rivers come1 thither they return again40 ,there are parts of the world where rains1 like winds1 come at regular and almost unfailing dates4 ,in disappointing years1 when they fail1 an ,empire may be disorganised in consequence4 ,but in our ,british ,isles no such regularity has sway2 and a pleasing uncertainty prevails about ,weather in general4 ,this gives scope for something to talk about1 and something to grumble at4 ,what the average ,briton would do without these perpetual possibilities is a serious question4 ,no doubt our ,weather is a very uncertain quantity to be reckoned with4 ,yet it may be that we are unfair to our friend the ,ocean1 who does so much for us in the weather-line--ever at work as he is1 night and day1 sending upward supplies of water1 bringing to our shore stores of tropical heat1 softening the westerly breezes which excel4 ,is ,english weather really so bad as is popularly supposed8 ,there are climates and climates in the world2 some worse1 some better4 ,may it not be that ours really is1 in many respects1 not worse but better8 ,perhaps a slight digression here will be pardoned1 for the sake of ,old ,ocean's good name1 in his dealings with the ,british ,isles4 ,foggy days1 dull and damp days1 are apt to make a more lasting impression upon some people's memories than sunny days4 ,one reason for the generally mournful idea of ,british weather may be due to the fact that foreigners1 ,frenchmen especially1 are by nature more light-hearted than ,englishmen1 and that they keep chiefly in mind their sunny days1 while we perhaps keep chiefly in mind our dull days4 ,to gain a fair estimate of average ,british weather1 long and careful observation is necessary4 ,there is absolutely no safe criterion1 save that of record-keeping4 ,not many people have the perseverance to do this for any length of time1 and few non-scientific people have the fairness of mind and judgment to do it dependably4 ,it is in my power to tell of a record which has been kept1 steadily1 carefully1 perseveringly1 by an ,english lady during many years1 and to give the results at which she arrived4 ,without being strictly scientific she was--,i have to say 8was10 since she has passed from our midst--accurate1 regular1 conscientious1 and fair-minded4 ,for all this ,i can vouch from personal knowledge4 ,at the same time that she kept records of the weather1 she registered day by day the readings of her thermometer and the daily amount of rainfall4 ,with the two latter we are not now concerned4 ,her method as to weather-registration was as follows4 ,four marks were used3 ,x for a thoroughly fine day2 ,v for a day in which fine and dull mingled1 but in which the fine predominated2 ,i for a day in which again the two mingled1 but in which the dull or rain had the best of the matter2 and ,o for a day which could only be described as decidedly bad4 ,of course many days occur which it is difficult to assign to either class1 especially of the two middle divisions4 ,but a constant endeavour was made to keep a fair proportion4 ,if one doubtful day were placed1 for instance1 in the ,v division1 the next equally doubtful day would be carefully placed in the ,i division1 to ensure accuracy4 ,at the end of each month all these four classes were added up separately4 ,also1 to simplify results1 the ,good and the ,half-good1 the ,bad and the ,half-bad1 were classed in two columns as comprehensively ,good and ,bad4 ,from these two columns curious results were obtained4 ,it should be stated that the lady in question lived at ,reigate1 and was seldom absent from home1 never more than for a few weeks at a time4 ,the record is thus mainly of one place4 ,now and again a short absence occurred1 and her observations were then carried on wherever she might be2 but the absences were so few and generally so short as to be unimportant4 ,before going farther1 it is worth while for the reader to ask himself1 perhaps also to ask one or two friends1 what might be the proportions of 8,good0 and 8,bad0 days that he or they would expect to find in the ,english climate1 as the result of such a computation8 ,would it be three-quarters bad and one-quarter good8 ,or could it be possibly half bad and half good8 ,here is the actual result3-- ,a4,d4 ,bad ,days4 ,good ,days4 #ahhf #hi #bgf #ahhg #ei #cjf #ahhh #he #bhj #ahhi #ajg #beh #ahij #he #bhj #ahia #ia #bgd #ahib #gg #bhh #ahic #ga #bid #ahid #aji #bdb #ahie #hh #bgg #ahif #hf #bhb ,if the second column be added up1 the sum-total amounts to three thousand and fifty-seven days4 ,if the first column be also added up1 the sum-total amounts to nine hundred and forty-seven days4 ,a very simple calculation1 which anybody may work out1 will show that the proportion of 8,good0 days towards 8,bad0 days is that of about ,three to ,one4 ,who would have thought it8 ,not certainly the majority of friends to whom ,i have appealed for an opinion4 ,not even an able scientific man1 who frankly confessed his astonishment4 ,over three-quarters of fairly ,good ,weather1 as opposed to under one-quarter of fairly ,bad ,weather--and this the average of eleven years6 ,have we not given the rein too freely to our ,national grumbling tendencies8 ,would it not be better if we thought more of the sunshine1 less of the clouds and rain8 ,it may perhaps be of interest to some to know more exactly the proportions of the four classes during those years4 ,both in these and in the former columns it will be noted that one year of the eleven is a few days short of the full length--the year #ahid4 ,this seems to have been the only lapse in regularity4 ,here is the fuller statement3-- ,a4,d4 ,bad4 ,half-bad4 ,half-good4 ,good4 #ahhf #ae #gd #hf #aij #ahhg #af #dc #aaf #aij #ahhh #ah #fg #aaj #aga #ahhi #ab #ie #aac #ade #ahij #ai #ff #aaj #agj #ahia #ba #gj #ajg #afg #ahib #ag #fj #ie #aic #ahic #ag #ed #hg #bjg #ahid #ai #ij #ajf #acf #ahie #ai #fi #hd #aic #ahif #bb #fd #aae #afe ,so if we owe our weather to the ,ocean's influences1 it appears that we have more to be thankful for than to complain of4 ,king ,charles ,,ii41 wise in word though not in deed1 is reported to have said that in ,england a man could work more days in the open air than in any other country4 ,whether this be so or not1 it at least shows that the ,merry ,monarch was not one in the army of weather-complainers4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,a ,,story ,,of ,,conflict 8,thou ,sea1 who wast to me a prophet deep1 ,through all thy restless waves and wasting shores1 ,of silent labour and eternal change40--,,kingsley4 ,between ,land and ,ocean a ceaseless contest is carried on4 ,the land is always endeavouring to keep its present state unchanged4 ,the ocean is ever trying to tear down and demolish the land4 ,yet the very object of the ocean in so doing seems to be that new land may be raised up with the stolen materials4 ,there are ,continents and ,islands1 moulded long ago1 which we see as finished structures1 that have reached the meridian of their existence and entered upon their decadence4 ,with many of these ,ocean's efforts are chiefly employed for destruction4 ,indeed1 in all cases1 the power which once erected an island or a continent is at work upon it still1 not always and only for destruction1 but sometimes for modification1 altering its shape1 making it larger or smaller1 rounding a curve here1 adding a protuberance there1 giving finishing touches1 and in the end1 if not from the beginning1 acting also as spoliator4 ,but the work of building has not ceased2 it never does cease4 ,through the ages it has gone on1 and it goes on yet4 ,there are embryo islands1 perhaps embryo continents1 being now slowly fashioned in ,ocean's workshops1 not ready for use4 ,a great part of the work of land-building takes place in darkness4 ,it is carried on1 not merely from day to day1 but from century to century1 never hasting1 never pausing4 ,the materials are brought often from far distances1 not by men1 but by streams1 by rivers1 by glaciers1 by ocean-waters2 and the weight of those waters helps to weld the gathered materials into a solid whole4 ,anybody who watches the results of even one heavy downpour of rain on land may gain some notion of what is going on everywhere4 ,if your house has a soft-water tank1 you can hardly have failed to note how black the water becomes1 after a pelting shower1 following upon a drought4 ,no wonder1 for the rain has washed the roof1 and has carried off a supply of collected dust and soot4 ,not the roofs of houses alone1 but the streets1 the walls1 the pavements1 in a town--the trees1 hedges1 grass1 roads1 in the country--are all relieved of dusty layers1 while1 if the rain be heavy enough1 sand and soil also are swept away4 ,sometimes they are only taken to a lower level in the same neighbourhood1 but large quantities find their way into the drains or streamlets1 which join bigger brooks1 and thus reach the nearest river1 finally joining the sea4 ,any moving stream is able to carry along floating materials1 which in still water would sink to the bottom4 ,the faster the current the heavier is the weight which it can support4 ,a mountain torrent conveys pebbles1 grinding them to a smaller size as it rushes along2 and some of the more powerful torrents transport even great stones4 ,if one is sceptical about this lifting power of water1 and if one cannot go to the mountains to see for oneself1 the next best thing is to watch the breaking of waves upon a shingly beach4 ,the pebbles in rough weather are caught up and whirled about like grains of sand2 and after a severe gale the whole look of a beach is often completely changed4 ,the shingle may have been piled to an unusual height1 or it may have been borne away4 ,so it is easy to recognise that water has no mean carrying strength4 ,in the last chapter we saw what huge gifts of water are handed over1 year by year1 from the ,land to the ,ocean4 ,but the ,rivers1 acting as handmaidens to carry these offerings1 do not bestow water only4 ,the water-gifts are laden with solid materials1 to be used for building purposes4 ,a river tears earth and sand from its own banks1 and wears down the stones and rocks in its bed2 and to this growing collection1 as it flows1 it adds contributions of earth and sand1 brought from higher reaches by its tributary streams4 ,most of those materials are kept afloat4 ,to make sure that they are so1 we only have to examine the mouth of a river4 ,floating mud and sand may not be apparent in the river itself2 but just where the river joins the sea1 just where the outflowing stream encounters the inflowing ocean-tides1 a bank or banks of mud and sand may be seen4 ,these are a common feature of river-mouths4 ,many a larger river has at its mouth an enormous network of banks1 divided by streams1 and the whole is described as the 8delta0 of that river2 its shape being roughly like the ,greek letter 8delta10 or like an opened fan4 ,everybody has heard of the ,delta of the ,nile1 the ,delta of the ,ganges1 the ,delta of the ,mississippi4 ,but hardly a river exists1 no matter how small1 which on joining the sea does not make its own little delta4 ,and the formation of these deltas comes about in a very simple manner4 ,so long as a river flows onward1 at a fair pace1 it is able to hold up its floating materials1 to keep the earth and sand in its embrace from sinking to the bottom4 ,but when it reaches the sea1 its progress is checked2 and no sooner does it slacken speed1 than some of its buoyed-up materials begin to sink4 ,the heavier kinds are the first to touch bottom1 getting piled up so as to form a bar or bank2 and farther out1 as the stream grows yet more slow1 lighter substances find their way downward1 making another bank4 ,in fact1 the river1 with ,ocean's help1 is busily building ,land1 forming an island or a group of islands1 either of pebbles or sand or mud4 ,in the case of a great river such islands are often very extensive4 ,the flow of a small river is quickly stopped by the sea1 but such powerful streams as the ,ganges or the ,nile pour onward for many many miles1 before they begin to mingle with the salt water1 their speed slackening gradually4 ,not only do they form great deltas of islands1 but they carry vast supplies of material far into the ocean4 ,recently an examination was made into the waters of nineteen important rivers1 to discover what quantity of material was carried by each4 ,the result of this examination was somewhat startling4 ,we have seen already how many cubic miles of water a river may give over yearly to the great deep4 ,it was found that1 on an average1 these rivers may be reckoned to give over also1 with each cubic mile of water1 more than seven hundred and sixty thousand tons of material1 torn from the land4 ,these enormous collections1 together with vast quantities which the waves have dug and wrenched from beaches and cliffs1 are dropped to ,ocean's floor4 ,not indeed generally to her deepest parts4 ,so far as we yet know1 the ,ocean does not build continents in those black profound abysses1 miles deep1 flat-floored1 calm1 unchangeable4 ,no traces have been there discovered of such strata as form the ,continental parts of ,earth's ,crust4 ,ocean's main work1 as builder1 goes on in 8,the ,transitional ,area20 and most so in that part of it which is called 8,the ,continental ,shelf10 where the depth does not exceed about six hundred feet4 8,transitional0 regions are so named because it is believed that some of them may once have been ,continents1 that others of them may yet become ,continents4 ,there was a time1 in the long past1 when ocean-waters flowed over all those parts of ,earth which now are known to us as dry land4 ,there may be a time1 in the far future1 when areas of comparatively shallow water will become dry land4 ,through ages the task of taking materials from the land for building purposes has been carried on by the ,ocean1 and it goes on still4 ,the ,continents are being steadily worn away2 the ,islands are becoming continually smaller4 ,were this to continue always1 with no counteracting forces1 islands and continents must in the end disappear4 ,it would take a very long time2 probably well over six millions of years1 at the present rate of demolition4 ,still1 however long deferred1 the end would be sure4 ,but counteracting forces exist4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,about ,,the ,,long ,,past 8,the cold and silent past40--,,whittier4 8,thou coveredst it with the ,deep as with a garment2 the waters stood above the mountains40--,ps4 civ4 #f4 ,the very long past--how long no man can say4 ,some rash attempts have been made to name the numbers of thousands of years which may have elapsed since this or that particular stage in the world's geological history4 ,such reckonings can possess little or no true value4 ,it is better to confess frankly that we cannot fix dates4 ,we only know that certain changes did come about--very long ago4 ,our ,earth has not always been as she is now4 ,she has altered greatly4 ,she is altering still4 ,development has gone on through the ages4 ,development goes on still4 ,continents and parts of ,ocean have1 so to speak1 changed places4 ,mountains have risen2 and tablelands1 high uplifted1 have sunk low4 ,sea-beds have become dry land2 and dry lands have become sea-beds4 ,rivers have carved new paths for themselves2 and cataracts have worn away vast masses of rock1 carrying the dbris to the sea4 ,ocean-waves have battered down lines of cliffs1 and new cliffs have emerged from under water4 ,all these things have come about1 not in a few years1 but in hundreds of years1 in thousands of years1 some say in millions of years4 ,such time-possibilities are not1 however1 without limits4 ,sooner or later the ,astronomer steps in with a--8,hold6 ,enough6 ,the ,sun as a light and heat giver could not have existed then40 ,but we may leave such perplexing comparisons and calculations1 and may content ourselves with a general--8,very long since60 ,there was a time when men believed our ,earth to be at rest1 in the centre of a revolving ,universe4 ,that notion had to be given up as knowledge grew4 ,there was a time1 far more recent1 when we all felt confident that this firm ground1 on which we live and move1 stand and work1 was solidly calm and immovable4 ,that notion too has had to be abandoned4 ,for the ,earth-crust itself is in motion2 certainly in parts2 probably as a whole4 ,here it is gently heaving upward2 there it is slowly sinking downward4 ,true1 we do not see or feel such movements4 ,but neither do we feel the whirl of our ,earth upon her axis1 or her rush around the sun4 ,neither do we see from hour to hour the growing of a boy into a man1 or the change from a sapling into a tree4 ,straight through from side to side1 the ,earth measures some eight thousand miles2 and of those eight thousand a very slight 8skin0 is all that we can study1 by anything approaching to direct observation4 ,no wells or mines on land can be sunk so deep as the sailor's plumbline in the ocean4 ,if we add the six miles or more of the ocean's greater depths to the five miles or more of ,earth's higher mountains1 we have at most twelve miles1 which1 compared with the whole diameter of the ,earth1 must be looked upon as a mere nothing4 ,by one means we are able to learn something of what lies deeper in the earth-crust4 ,half a dozen deep wells may be sunk in different places1 the same boring apparatus being used1 and the same methods being followed4 ,but the same results would not be obtained4 ,earth's crust is not one solid continuous substance1 like a shell of iron4 ,it is made up of different substances1 lying one upon another1 or mixed confusedly together4 ,when men work their way downwards1 in well-sinking or in mine-sinking1 they come across a great variety of layers1 each unlike the rest4 ,here perhaps is a stratum of stiff clay1 and there is a deposit of sandstone4 ,here hard granite bars the path1 and there an easy road is found through crumbling chalk4 ,here a great thickness of pebbles appears1 bound together into a rock-like conglomerate2 and there seams of coal alternate with limestone4 ,each whispers a tale of ,earth's past history2 and not the same tale4 ,they were not all made in the same workshop1 or after the same mode4 ,each has its own separate biography4 ,and the various layers do not lie flat and even1 one upon another4 ,once upon a time they may so have lain1 but since those days they have been moved and shoved about1 tilted and lowered1 heaved up and dragged down1 so that some of the upper layers have in places disappeared below the pile1 and in other places some of the undermost layers have been pushed to the top4 ,it is by studying the latter1 where they happen to crop up within reach1 that the geologist can learn a little about deeper portions of the earth-crust and about the rocks of which it is made4 ,by that word 8rock0 must be understood1 not only such hard kinds as granite and marble1 but softer materials1 such as chalks1 clays1 sands1 and even muds4 ,rocks generally have been roughly divided into two classes--the ,stratified and the ,unstratified4 ,stratified ,rocks1 known also as ,sedimentary1 have been put together in the past1 grain by grain1 layer by layer1 under water1 built gradually through ages1 and slowly welded into firmness4 ,unstratified ,rocks1 known also as ,igneous1 from the ,latin word for 8fire10 have been melted down by great heat into a liquid state1 and have then cooled into solid crystallized masses4 ,when these fire-made rocks have been heaved up from lower depths and are exposed to the wearing effects of rain and wind1 rivers and waves1 they too have to part with much of their material1 like stratified rocks1 only more slowly1 owing to their harder make4 ,these materials are carried seaward1 to be used in the building of fresh stratified rocks4 ,then again1 some kinds of stratified rocks1 when exposed to intense heat1 will crystallize into igneous rocks4 ,so the one kind may be the child of the other2 and many rocks partake of the characteristics of both4 ,with regard to the wearing away of rocks1 the destruction of land by water1 it was said in the close of the last chapter that1 but for certain 8counteracting forces10 the whole of the ,continents might in the course of ages be slowly carried off by the ,ocean1 and be buried in the mighty deep4 ,this sounds like what1 in modern parlance1 may be termed 8a very large order40 ,who could imagine a feeble substance like water having any effect upon massive granite cliffs8 ,few people grasp the tremendous battering force of ocean-waves upon a rocky coast1 and fewer still realise the wasting power of running rivers1 or of endless successions of raindrops4 ,here is a fact as to the strength of ocean-waves4 ,some of us may have watched the majestic ground-swell which beats upon the western coast of ,scotland4 ,it is said that1 upon a rough average1 taking smooth and tempestuous weather together1 each summer wave that breaks upon that shore from the ,atlantic does so with a force of over six hundred pounds upon the square foot4 ,for winter months alone1 when gales have sway1 the average blow rises to about one ton2 and some mighty billows are known to batter with a weight of three tons4 ,such a fierce assault as this1 continued through thousands of years1 might well in time wear away the hardest rocks1 demolish the loftiest cliffs4 ,a counteracting force1 however1 exists1 and has already been named4 ,our earth-crust is in motion4 ,parts of it are sinking1 and in those regions the ocean has the best of the contest2 for fight as man may1 raise walls and bulwarks and breakwaters as he will1 he can but retard the inevitable4 ,if the sinking continue1 no matter how sluggishly1 he must in the end be beaten1 and the persistent sea will encroach upon the land's domain4 ,but many coasts are slowly rising1 slowly lifting themselves out of the sea1 slowly shaking themselves free from ,ocean's dominion2 and in those regions1 no less inevitably1 the action of the sea is thwarted4 ,as to the why and the wherefore of such ,crust-movements1 science suggests explanations4 ,once upon a time1 long ago1 our ,earth was a glowing molten mass4 ,since that period it has been cooling1 and it is cooling still4 ,many facts point to the great probability of a still molten centre4 ,not only do we find volcanoes scattered over the ,earth1 on land and under the ocean2 but numberless hot-water springs exist1 some of them a thousand miles away from any known volcano4 ,then again1 when deep mining or boring operations take place1 it is noted that the degree of warmth for a while corresponds to the state of the weather above1 but that beyond the limits of seasonal change the temperature rises with increase of depth4 ,this looks like greater heat below4 ,many scientists have held strongly that1 as above suggested1 the whole inside of our ,earth is so far heated as to be in a molten condition1 contained within a cool hard crust1 which may be from twenty to fifty miles in thickness4 ,others have maintained that the said crust cannot be less than two thousand miles thick1 with a small molten core4 ,others believe that the entire ,earth is actually solid throughout2 the outer parts from coolness2 the inner parts from great pressure4 ,again1 a theory has been started of a solid centre and a solid crust1 with an intervening 8fire-sea0 of molten rocks2 and another of a gaseous inner globe1 surrounded first by molten layers1 then by a firm inclosing crust4 ,all these different explanations rest upon one foundation--that of a steadily cooling ,earth--that of a more or less heated interior1 and of a hardened crust4 ,the cooling of the inside goes on slowly1 and not uniformly1 since conditions differ in different places4 ,as the heated materials become cooler they lessen in size4 ,thus the nucleus is constantly getting a little too small for the inclosing crust4 ,if the said crust were a solid shell1 compact and strong enough in all its parts to resist the strain of its enormous weight1 it might be expected to keep its shape and position unchanged1 holding loosely within itself the shrinking centre4 ,but it is formed of a great number of materials1 some hard1 some soft and yielding4 ,therefore1 as the central parts lessen in size1 the crust sinks downwards1 and in so doing it wrinkles into huge folds1 like the rind of a shrivelling orange or the skin of a very old man's face4 ,a ridge is pushed up here2 a furrow extends there4 ,here a long range of mountains is found2 there we see a succession of valleys4 ,by these movements the ,ocean is both helped and hindered in its 8building40 ,as new land is formed under water1 the 8crust-creep0 perhaps raises it gently1 and a strip of sea becomes dry land4 ,but another portion of the work1 that of pulling land to pieces1 is checked2 for let the waves strive as they may to wear away a coast-line1 a very slight upheaval is enough to counterbalance their utmost exertions4 ,such changes are usually gradual--so quiet1 so deliberate1 as only to become apparent in the course of centuries4 ,not that crust-movements are always sluggish4 ,the ceaseless sinking and crinkling of vast extents of country1 the crowding together into a smaller space of immense masses of material1 cannot but cause enormous pressure2 and here or there a portion suddenly gives under the strain4 ,then the ground shakes and heaves1 or some terrible landslip takes place4 ,earthquakes are now looked upon generally as signs of abrupt yielding to intense pressure4 ,sometimes they indicate that a huge weight of material deep down has slid to a lower level1 packing more closely or pushing aside other masses1 and causing what miners call 8a fault0--that is a break or dislocation in the regular lines of the stratified rocks4 ,or slip after slip may take place1 one mass being disturbed by the movements of a neighbouring mass2 and so the ground above may tremble again and again with recurring shocks4 ,such shocks are fearfully common in some parts4 ,in ,japan1 for instance1 it was noted that nine thousand had been felt in the course of only eight years2 and in one great earthquake alone--that of ,october #bfth1 #ahia--;almost ten thousand human beings perished4 ,movements of the crust1 whether slow or rapid1 are not due always and only to the shrinkage of the central portions of our globe1 and to the sinking and re-adjustment of the strata4 ,there are mighty fire-forces below2 molten materials pent up1 waiting for the slightest yielding of the solid crust to fight their way out2 heated and imprisoned gases struggling for freedom4 ,sometimes these captive giants escape through what may be termed the orthodox safety-valves1 old volcanic vents4 ,sometimes they break open new craters for themselves4 ,sometimes they fail to get out1 and only shake the ground1 or force it gently upward4 ,though earthquakes are more usually ascribed to the effects of a steady 8crust-creep10 they are sometimes caused by heated gases seeking liberty4 ,these heavings and twistings1 these crumplings and swayings1 of the earth-crust do not belong only to land1 but go on in the same manner under the ocean4 ,many an earthquake felt on land has its origin under the sea2 and others are so far out as to be felt only by passing ships4 ,in the ,pacific alone it is said that about two thousand five hundred shocks occur in the course of a year4 ,of the eight or ten thousand shocks1 believed to be about the average number throughout the world annually1 fully half have their origin beneath ocean-waters4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,old ,,ocean ,,as ,a ,,builder 8,grain by grain ,his ,hand ,numbers the unmeasurable sand40--,c4 ,g4 ,,rossetti4 8444 ,the ever changing strand ,of shifting and unstable sand ,which wastes beneath the steady chime ,and beating of the waves40--,,whittier4 ,as a vast ,cathedral is made of separate blocks of stone1 laid one upon another and cemented together1 so a stratified rock is formed of tiny particles of substance1 placed one over another and pressed into solidity4 ,let us scoop up a little sand from the sea-shore1 and look at it under a magnifying-glass4 ,we shall find a number of loose yellow grains1 not all alike in shape1 but all somewhat rounded4 ,most of them are characterised by a glittering hardness1 and probably some are transparent4 ,for the most part these grains are of a substance called quartz1 which may be almost any colour from white to black4 ,some beautiful forms of it are known to us1 such as amethyst1 agate1 and jasper4 ,but we have now to do with the humbler relatives of those aristocratic gems2 with the more commonplace kinds of quartz1 such as sandstone4 ,sandstone rock is chiefly made of grains of sand1 firmly compacted together4 ,an especial interest belongs to the rounded shape of these little grains4 ,like many voiceless things in the world of inanimate ,nature1 it tells its own tale1 if only we will pause to hear4 ,why should grains of sand be rounded8 ,why not square1 or pointed1 or angular8 ,that is just what they were1 not very long ago4 ,each sand-speck1 when first detached from rock or stone1 had its angles and corners4 ,but these have been gradually rubbed away2 and by the very same process which1 in the course of years1 rubs away angularities and eccentricities from the characters of human beings4 ,the work has been done through contact with its neighbours--not by an occasional rub1 but by steady friction1 long continued4 ,each grain of sand1 rubbing against and being rubbed by its companion-grains1 has been rounded1 smoothed1 polished1 till it has grown into the finished specimen1 without any obtrusive points or disagreeable angles remaining4 ,an unpleasant discipline1 perhaps2 yet1 in the case of sand-grains and also of human beings1 worth undergoing for the sake of results4 ,looked upon from a geological point of view1 this shape of the sand-grains means merely the wearing and wasting away of substance1 with no pretty explanation attached1 though with a very definite underlying story of their past history4 8,no workman ever manufactured a half-worn article1 and the stones were all worn40 ,so wrote ,hugh ,miller when describing his first boyish experience of toil in a ,scotch quarry twenty years earlier4 ,boy as he then was1 his keen eyes noted the stones1 8rounded and water-worn1 as if they had been tossed in the sea or in the bed of a river for hundreds of years40 ,boy as he was1 he knew that stones1 broken off from larger stones or rocks1 have at first their irregular shapes1 their corners and jagged points1 which can only be worked into smoothness by the action of water4 ,boy as he was1 he realised that these quarry inland stones had once been rubbed and shaped by ocean-waves4 ,he made a mistake in his assertion4 ,some workmen do manufacture articles1 not indeed really half-worn1 but with the look of being half-worn though actually new1 for mercantile purposes--to pass off the new1 as if it were old1 when the old has greater value4 ,but it may safely and with confidence be declared that the ,divine ,architect of ,earth and ,heaven never so puts forth ,his mighty power4 ,when we see in ,nature a thing worn in appearance we know that it has been worn in reality4 ,in his first day of quarry work ,hugh ,miller saw more than this4 ,he noted surfaces of sandstone rock1 laid bare by blasting1 all 8ridged and furrowed1 like a bank of sand that had been left by the tide an hour before40 ,he had seen the latter hundreds of times when sailing over shallows near the shore4 ,but here the ridges and furrows were petrified1 changeless1 and on dry land1 where no ocean-waves could reach4 ,no wonder he was puzzled4 ,such ripple-marked sandstone is far from uncommon4 ,it gives a perfect reproduction of the little sand-ripples or rounded ridges and hollows1 often to be found on a sandy shore1 either visible through a thin layer of water or left bare after the tide goes down4 ,and it shows us how the sandstone rock must originally have been put together1 under water4 ,soft undulations were made in the wet sand by one high tide1 becoming in a measure hardened before the next high tide1 and so keeping their shapes1 while a fresh supply of sand was dropped upon them1 partaking of the same outlines4 ,as time passed1 more and more sand would be thus deposited1 the ground probably sinking and the weight of sand increasing1 until the lower layers had stiffened into rock4 ,in after days a slow upheaval of the ground came about1 and where ocean waters had flowed would be dry land4 ,by-and-by--who can say how long after8--the ripple-marked slabs of sandstone1 petrified memorials of the past1 would be found2 perhaps far inland1 if the country had risen much2 perhaps in a quarry by a young ,scotch working-lad1 to be marvelled over as a specimen of old ,ocean's bygone work4 ,another such token of the past is found in hardened raindrop traces1 impressed on solid sandstone4 ,the rain fell on a soft sandy shore1 making tiny holes in the sand1 with splashed-up ridges round each small hole4 ,have we not all seen this8 ,if not1 we might have used our eyes better4 ,before the coming in of the next tide the surface hardened1 like the sand-ridges already described1 and so1 being covered over by new layers of sand and gradually transformed into rock1 it was later uplifted above the sea1 and the holes have lasted intact until now4 ,it may be objected that the time between one high tide and another is hardly long enough for any such hardening process--even on the hottest and driest of summer days4 ,then the hardening may have taken place only on that slender belt of sand1 which is covered for a day or two by the spring tides1 and is not again reached by ocean-waves for nearly a fortnight4 ,in earlier chapters it was shown--first1 how the ,ocean is ever striving to keep a level surface2 and secondly1 how the object sought is never attained to4 ,not only are the waters in ceaseless motion1 heaving to and fro under the influence of every passing breeze1 borne hither and thither by mighty streams1 disturbed by innumerable storms4 ,but also the powerful attraction of the land1 particularly of great mountain ranges1 lifts the sea-surface in some regions hundreds of feet higher than in others4 ,so that a ship1 passing from the neighbourhood of a mountainous coast to mid-ocean1 may be actually sailing or steaming downhill1 actually descending a vast gentle watery slope4 ,another question as to ,ocean's level has much exercised the minds of men4 ,throughout the world1 remains of sea-creatures in countless multitudes are found embedded in the substance of water-built rocks3 sometimes the very rocks being made up of them4 ,this1 not only on the tops of lesser hills1 but at the summits of mountains eight thousand feet high1 twelve thousand feet high1 sixteen or eighteen thousand feet high4 ,very ancient remains they often are1 certainly many tens of thousands of years old4 ,but whatever their age may be1 they echo and add to the story which is told by the rocks themselves4 ,from the rocks we learn that1 once upon a time1 long ago1 they were put together1 scrap by scrap1 under water1 not upon dry land4 ,and from the fossil remains in those rocks we learn with equal certainty that1 once upon a time1 they lay under ocean-waters4 ,fossil remains1 buried in rocks1 are of many kinds4 ,not only relics of animals1 or of parts of animals1 such as teeth and bones and shells4 ,not only relics of sea-weeds and other ocean vegetation4 ,not merely the actual remains1 hardened into stone2 but also the casts or shapes of all such remains1 found impressed in the substance of the rocks4 ,the whole of these various records of the past must be included under the term 8fossils40 ,firmer substances1 like shells and bones1 have become often transformed into actual solid stone4 ,but softer living substances have more frequently passed out of existence1 leaving only an impress or cast1 which is filled up later by some other substance4 ,when upon high mountain-tops such fossils are found--the remains of sea-weeds and sea-creatures embedded in rock--the question must naturally arise1 ,how could these ocean-inhabitants have found their way to such a height8 ,that the sea must once have flowed over them cannot be doubted4 ,but how did it come about8 ,were those water-built heights under the sea1 because in those times the land lay lower1 or because the sea-surface stood higher8 ,that the earth-crust is restless1 heaving1 disposed to rise and sink1 to crumple into furrows1 to fold into ravines and mountain ranges1 we now know4 ,yet this may not be the whole explanation of sea-shells upon high summits4 ,it may be also that the surface of the sea itself--the general level of the ocean--has not been always the same4 ,it too may have risen and sunk2 not once only1 but many times4 ,between one and two hundred years ago there was a theory that the sea had as a whole sunk lower1 on account of the enormous drying up of its surface4 ,of course the surface does dry up very much and very rapidly4 ,yet this deficit in ocean-waters being met by equally enormous down-pourings of rain and gifts of river-water1 evaporation will not serve to account for a lowered ocean-level all over the earth4 ,so the notion had to be given up2 and in later years it was looked upon as certain that the land must have risen1 and that the ocean-level must have been changeless4 ,until recently this was regarded as established2 but in the curious see-saw of scientific theories the pendulum has begun to swing back4 ,not all the way4 ,that the land has risen in parts1 shaking its skirts free from ocean-tides1 is not doubted4 ,scientists are1 however1 maintaining that while this is true1 the other need not be untrue4 ,they hold that1 while land in many places has undoubtedly risen and sunk1 the ocean-surface may have risen and sunk also4 ,the ocean could not1 indeed1 like the land have risen or sunk only in parts4 ,except where it is forcibly held at a higher level by some strong force of local attraction1 this would be impossible4 ,yet causes might exist which should affect the whole ocean-surface4 ,one such may be mentioned4 ,the rising or sinking of great tracts of land could not fail to affect the ocean-level4 ,that it must do so may be easily understood4 ,let us fill a basin with water1 to within an inch of the brim1 and then slowly lower into the water a ball1 or any other solid body4 ,as the ball enters1 the level of the water rises--must rise4 ,then let us slowly lift the ball out again2 and as it leaves the water1 the level of the latter sinks--must sink4 ,precisely the same result would follow upon the rising or sinking of some great continental mass4 ,when it rises1 the ocean contains less land1 and the water-level must go down4 ,when it sinks1 the ocean contains more land1 and the water-level must go up4 ,this question has been long under discussion4 ,for many years1 as with other questions1 each side looked upon its own view for the time being as the only right one4 ,but--as again with many difficult problems--the fairer and wider view recognises the possibility of truth in both explanations1 and probably in the end both will prove to be in a measure right4 ,many other kinds of rock1 as well as sandstone1 have been built under ocean-waters in past ages1 constructed of minute particles1 piled together1 and hardened4 ,some sorts1 like sandstone1 are only or chiefly mineral2 while others are only or chiefly 8organic0--that is1 are mainly composed of the remains of 8organised0 or living beings4 ,about the latter much has to be said in future chapters4 ,a very few words in the close of this chapter1 as to the classifying of different kinds of ,rocks1 may not be amiss4 ,ocean-deposits1 or ,ocean-buildings1 are often roughly divided into three groups4 ,in 8,deep-,sea ,deposits0 are included all that lie beyond the ,hundred-fathom ,line1 or a depth of six hundred feet4 ,in 8,shallow-water ,deposits0 are included all that lie between six hundred feet deep and low-water mark4 ,in 8,littoral ,deposits0--the word coming from the ,latin for 8shore0--are included all deposits that lie on shore-lines1 between the highest and the lowest tides4 ,at first sight the tide-deposits might seem to be but a small matter4 ,not so small1 really6 ,earth's coast-lines reach to something like one hundred and twenty-five thousand miles in length4 ,since the medium breadth of ground affected by tides is about half-a-mile1 the whole tidal area amounts to over sixty thousand square miles4 ,no mean workshop this1 under the auspices of crushing and grinding billows4 ,on shore-lines building takes place rapidly4 ,the 8,shallow0 zone is much more extensive1 reaching to some ten millions of square miles4 ,its principal deposits are much the same as those of the tidal zone--muds1 sands1 gravels1 pebbles4 ,in parts of the ,earth they also include volcanic and coral muds4 ,greater1 far greater1 far more widely reaching1 are the regions of 8,deep-,sea ,deposits10 which cover more than one-half of the whole surface of our globe4 ,in those cold and dark and silent workshops1 hidden from the eyes of men1 building goes on1 very quietly1 very slowly1 through interminable ages4 ,in those workshops are deposited divers materials--,red ,clay1 ,red ,mud1 ,blue ,mud1 ,green ,mud1 ,volcanic ,mud1 ,diatom ,ooze1 ,globigerina ,ooze1 and many others1 forming ,ocean's carpet4 ,almost any of these muds and oozes may occasionally be found in the second division1 but they more generally belong to the 8,deep ,sea40 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,how ,,chalk ,,is ,,made 8,peace1 moaning ,sea1 what tale have you to tell1 ,what mystic tidings1 all unknown before8 ,whether you break and thunder on the shore1 ,or whisper like the voice within the shell1 ,o moaning ,sea1 ,i know your burden well60 ,,lewis ,,morris4 8,the tiny cell is forlorn1 ,void of the little living will40--,,tennyson4 ,one of the tasks carried on in ,ocean waters is ,chalk-,building4 ,the 8,white ,cliffs of ,albion0 and those also of ,gaul are vast masses of chalk1 containing layers of flint1 and mixed with many other materials1 but chiefly composed of the crumbling white substance1 which is familiar to all who live near the ,north and ,south ,downs4 ,this formation stretches a long way4 ,the heights of ,salisbury are of chalk4 ,the ,chiltern ,hills are of chalk4 ,the ,yorkshire ,wolds are of chalk4 ,it is found in ,norfolk2 it is found in ,kent2 it is found in ,surrey2 it is found in ,sussex4 ,there are chalk-beds in ,france1 in ,germany1 in other parts of ,europe--not to speak of ,asia--which1 with those of ,great ,britain1 extend through many hundreds of miles4 ,and wherever these masses of chalk are found1 there we know that1 once upon a time1 the land lay under ocean-waves4 ,for ,chalk1 like ,sandstone1 was not formed on dry land4 ,it could not be formed on dry land4 ,it was built--it could only be built--under the sea1 to be in later ages uplifted as dry land4 ,during those far-back days1 when the chalk-beds of ,europe were being made1 a different state of things prevailed from that of the present4 ,by far the greater part of ,europe must have lain under water1 from which the summits of the ,alps1 the ,pyrenees1 and other mountains emerged as groups of islands4 ,great ,britain must have been chiefly or entirely hidden4 ,so far ,i have spoken of sandstone and chalk together4 ,but a marked distinction--a vital distinction--exists between the two4 ,in the mode of their building they may be alike4 ,in the materials of which they are built they are utterly different4 ,if a lump of chalk is examined by the chemist1 its principal substance is found to be ,carbonate of ,lime4 ,now there is something very remarkable about ,carbonate of ,lime4 ,it is absolutely different from the materials of which sandstone and granite are made4 ,wherever we stumble upon carbonate-of-lime1 there we are on the track of ,,life4 ,and the moment that we touch upon ,,life1 even in its simplest and lowest forms1 we rise to a higher level4 ,hitherto1 in this subject of the ,mighty ,deep1 we have had to do with things inanimate2 things without consciousness2 things blindly controlled by the forces of nature4 ,in the story of ocean-waters1 of ocean-salt1 of ocean-rivers1 of icebergs and ice-floes1 ,life has no part4 ,there is no life in a grain of sand1 no life in a granite rock4 ,but here1 suddenly1 we are arrested4 ,here1 in the composition of ,chalk1 we come across a difference4 ,here1 at one step1 we pass over a vast dividing chasm1 and stand face to face with that which has ,life4 ,not indeed that which lives now1 but with that which did live1 the signs of which may better help us to understand ,life in the present4 ,is this so new8 ,have we not already in former chapters found tokens of creatures which once existed1 of fossil remains embedded in rock8 ,yes2 but that was not the same4 ,fossil remains are discovered in many kinds of stratified rock4 ,here we are not concerned with separate remains1 buried in masses of chalk1 but with the actual substance of chalk itself4 ,the mere building of it1 as earlier told1 closely resembles the building of sandstone4 ,chalk1 like sandstone1 was formed in past ages out of tiny particles1 carried by ocean-waves1 dropped upon ocean's bed1 slowly consolidated1 then gradually upheaved4 ,particles of---- ,ah1 there we reach the great distinction6 ,not particles of inanimate mineral substances1 such as grains of quartz4 ,no2 but particles which once formed the habitation of living creatures4 ,more than this--particles which once shared in the ,life of the beings with which for the time they were in touch4 ,infinitesimal specks1 often so minute as to appear only as fine dust to man's unaided sight2 yet real organic remains1 each one of which has been the home of an active animal4 ,a lump of chalk is a mass of densely packed tiny fossil shells1 more or less crushed and broken4 ,it has been reckoned that a cubic inch of chalk probably holds at least one million shells4 ,try to imagine what this means4 ,the work of the ,ocean in building solid sandstone1 from unnumbered myriads of myriads of grains of sand1 is marvellous enough4 ,but here we have something far more wonderful4 ,here we have rocks and cliffs1 ranges of hills and extents of country1 to a great degree composed of almost invisible sea-shells1 so small1 so numerous1 that a million or more of them may be packed into one little cubic inch of space1 while the chalk-beds lie through hundreds of miles4 ,think of continuous piles of these shells1 many hundreds of feet in thickness1 all built out of the dead shells of dying millions of tiny creatures4 ,deep1 deep below the surface1 where waves had no power1 where currents were sluggish1 fell a ceaseless gentle rain of these minute shells4 ,life had fled from each jelly inhabitant2 its brief day was over2 and the empty shell went quietly down1 whether from near the surface or from lower depths1 till it reached the ocean-bed4 ,there it lay1 forming part of a gathering sticky ooze or mud1 which in later times should be slowly hardened into chalk4 ,but the greater wonder has yet to be told about these shells--these tiny highly-finished constructions4 ,not only did a speck of living jelly once inhabit each shell4 ,that speck of living jelly actually ,,made the shell4 ,not deliberately4 ,not with intention4 ,not even consciously4 ,the 8making0 is in no sense to be confounded with voluntary effort1 with the labour which means exertion and fatigue4 ,it was as instinctive1 as involuntary1 as the 8making0 of bones in your body and mine4 8,but we do not make our bones10 somebody may protest1 with a touch of indignation4 ,undoubtedly1 in a sense1 we do4 ,the jelly-speck does not more surely 8secrete0 its shell1 than a man 8secretes0 his skeleton4 ,personal will has not to do with the task in either case1 beyond the taking in of necessary food2 and neither man nor jelly-speck may claim any credit on the score of the pattern worked out4 ,we have all seen a garden-snail1 carrying lightly upon its back its shell or 8house10 or outside skeleton4 ,that shell is formed of carbonate-of-lime4 ,in the snail's slimy body exists a small manufactory for producing or 8secreting0 carbonate-of-lime4 ,the materials are obtained by the snail through its food4 ,the deposits of it--made as the snail's nature1 certainly not the snail's reason--dictates1 grow into a sheltering framework for its protection4 ,in a ,dictionary we may find the strict meaning of this word 8secrete40 ,it is given as--8to hide2 to conceal2 to deposit in some secret or private place2 to separate from the blood in animals1 or from the sap in vegetables1 and elaborate into a new product40 ,one cannot deny that the word1 though used for all such 8elaborations10 is more appropriate in the case of a man's hidden and private framework of bones1 than in a snail's or jelly-creature's outside shell4 ,that which the garden-snail so deftly does1 is done also by countless billions of minute jelly-specks in the ocean2 though with the latter the mechanism is far simpler1 because the animal belongs to a far lower and more primitive type4 ,still1 simple though the apparatus may be1 the tiniest of these jelly-specks has power to separate lime from ocean-waters1 to unite it with carbonic acid in its own frame1 to form carbonate-of-lime from the two1 and to build of the manufactured carbonate-of-lime a shell for its own use4 ,thenceforward1 for a little space1 the jelly-speck lives in that shell1 and feeds in that shell1 and then it dies in that shell4 ,when it exists no longer1 down sinks the lifeless skeleton1 to serve a new purpose at the bottom of the sea4 ,no mere shapeless lumps are these shells1 flung together without care or plan4 ,each one1 however infinitesimal in size1 is a delicate and elaborate construction2 each one shows the carrying out of a definite and beautiful plan4 ,a different design serves for each species and kind of jelly-speck--not for each individual4 ,such ,design we must ascribe to a ,mind lying beyond that which we see2 not to the jelly-speck itself1 which acts as an unconscious architect1 working automatically1 as you and ,i work in the early growth and later renewal of our bony frameworks1 the 8secreting0 of our skeletons4 ,no chance tossing together of particles of carbonate-of-lime could result in the exquisite forms1 the intricate patterns1 of these little shells2 still less1 in such patterns being faithfully reproduced by millions of living jelly-specks1 each according to its own class or variety4 ,for all this the present tense is as true as the past tense4 ,those white cliffs along the coast were formed ages ago4 ,but the ocean is working still1 building still1 piling grains of sand together still1 heaping specks of mud together still1 and laying shells1 shells1 shells1 together still1 in amounts beyond all reckoning4 ,chalk-building went on in ages past2 it goes on now2 and doubtless it will go on in centuries to come4 ,not only beyond reckoning1 but beyond imagination1 are the enormous multitudes of these creatures1 which live and die in the ocean1 forming their shells1 and adding their skeletons to the ever-growing pile below4 ,over a large part of the ,atlantic bed1 as over other ,ocean-beds too1 lies a thick ooze4 ,when this was first brought to the surface1 in soundings that were made before the laying of the earliest ,atlantic cable1 it was supposed to mean a thin deposit of no particular importance4 ,then a deep-sea dredge1 plunged into the ooze1 carried away half-a-ton of it1 and men began to realise what its presence might mean4 ,by a long succession of soundings1 its true nature became slowly manifest4 ,the ooze was found to be composed chiefly of tiny rounded shells1 called 8,globigerina10 which belong to a larger class1 known as 8,foraminifera40 ,and the white chalk of our ,british cliffs is made principally of ,foraminifera shells4 ,this last name springs from two ,latin words1 meaning 8,i bear a hole40 ,the ,foraminifera shells bear many holes4 ,each is in shape a tiny collection of rounded compartments1 usually not more than sixteen in number2 and each compartment has numerous minute holes in its walls4 ,its inhabitant1 a speck of jelly1 is one of the least of living creatures1 belonging to the great ,division of 8,protozoa10 or 8,first ,animals40 ,none rank below them1 for they are on the first or lowest rung in the ladder of life4 ,a jelly-speck has no head1 no limbs1 no stomach1 not even a mouth4 ,it can take in food at any part of its soft body4 ,when it wishes--and apparently even a jelly-speck can wish1 which at once separates it from inanimate materials--it makes a temporary tentacle or 8foot10 by pushing out a slender filament of its own substance through one of the tiny holes in its shell4 ,whence the name 8,rhizopod40 ,not all the ,foraminifera specks live in the same kind of sheltering skeletons4 ,some construct delicate domes or many-chambered discs of sand-grains1 joined together with enough carbonate-of-lime to act as building-cement4 ,such skeletons are called 8tests10 to distinguish them from 8shells0 proper4 ,hardly anything can be more remarkable than the way in which these tests are put together by mere specks of jelly1 alive indeed1 but without parts1 without development1 without understanding4 ,how and why they should choose from one place1 each the especial materials which go to form its own kind of 8test10 is one of the mysteries in ,nature for which ,science has no explanation4 ,we can but look and marvel4 ,one kind of jelly-speck will use the larger grains of quartz1 arranging them1 and joining them into a bottle-shaped test or shelter4 ,another1 in the same spot1 belonging to a different species1 will select tinier grains of the same substance1 and will build out of them a rounded sphere1 exquisitely modelled1 with tiny holes at intervals for the protruding 8limbs40 ,another1 of yet a different species1 picks out the minutest of sand-grains and of bits of sponge-spicules1 and knits them together1 without any cement1 into delicate white globes1 8like homopathic globules10 giving to each a single opening4 ,and still another1 of again a different species1 forms a test of divers compartments1 with a tiny doorway leading from each into the next4 ,behind all these extraordinary constructions lies a ,,mind4 ,but--not the mind of the jelly-speck6 ,soft oozes1 formed chiefly of ,foraminifera and other shells1 varying in size from a pin's head to almost invisible specks--though some few kinds are larger--cover immense reaches of the ocean-bed1 extending1 it is said1 over fifty millions of square miles4 ,yet they are not found everywhere below the sea4 ,near to ,continents1 if they exist they are lost sight of amid the masses of sand and mud carried down from the land4 ,and in the profounder abysses of the ocean they are lacking4 ,this last fact was long a puzzle4 ,if the waters above were swarming with live ,foraminifera1 the dead shells of which must be ever pouring in a quiet rain to the ocean-bed1 why should not the same ooze be found there1 as elsewhere8 ,that the waters above1 at least in all warmer climates1 do swarm thus1 is certain4 ,towards north and south1 in colder seas1 they rapidly lessen2 but in tropical regions1 and in warm ocean-streams their numbers are legion4 ,yet1 from depths beyond about two miles1 the ooze was not brought up4 ,one explanation can be given2 and it is that of the strong dissolving power of sea-water4 ,after a depth of about two miles1 the delicate little shells fail to resist that power4 ,once at the bottom1 they might be covered up and preserved2 but they cease to exist en route thither4 ,so in this as in many other instances1 we see opposite forces at work4 ,the one force is perpetually undoing what the other force is perpetually doing4 ,innumerable multitudes of living creatures are at work1 taking lime from the water1 and constructing carbonate-of-lime4 ,but the ocean is ever seeking to re-dissolve that carbonate-of-lime4 ,another difficult question as to the ooze was--whether the shells of which it is mainly made were those of ,foraminifera living in the deep sea1 far down below the surface1 or of ,foraminifera living near the surface4 ,able men took both sides of the discussion1 some ascribing the ooze entirely to deep-sea jelly-specks1 others ascribing it entirely to surface jelly-specks4 ,the question cannot be said yet to have met with complete settlement4 ,but here once more it seems that both sides have been partly in the right4 ,there are ,foraminifera which live only at great depths1 and there are ,foraminifera which live only near the surface4 ,the ooze is found to consist of shells belonging to both kinds1 though it may be that the surface species carry away the palm in point of greater multitudes4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,of ,,ocean-,,weeds 8,have hung ,my dank and dripping weeds40--,trans4 ,,horace4 8,the tide is full1 the moon lies fair ,upon the ,straits2 on the ,french ,coast the light ,gleams1 and is gone2 the ,cliffs of ,england stand1 ,glimmering and vast1 out in the tranquil bay40 ,,matthew ,,arnold4 ,scattered through the vast ,chalk-beds of ,great ,britain and the ,continent are thousands of layers of ,,flint1 such layers as any of us may have seen intersecting the smooth white face of ,chalk ,cliffs4 ,and as with ,chalk1 so with ,flint--we at once find ourselves upon the track of ,life4 ,not indeed always of animal life4 ,sometimes vegetable life takes its place4 ,though the highest ,vegetables stand on a lower level than the lowest ,animals1 they too have ,life1 and thereby they are entirely apart from the whole world of inanimate ,nature4 ,widely distinct are the ,animal ,kingdom and the ,vegetable ,kingdom2 yet on the borderland between the two is found a hazy belt of uncertainty4 ,so gently does the one glide into the other that1 though a line of demarcation does exist1 it is not always easily made out4 ,but the transition from the lowest form of that which lives to any and every form of that which has no ,life is abrupt1 absolute1 precipitous4 ,here we see no quiet sliding of the one into the other1 no wavering hesitancy as to whether a certain something may belong to this or that side of the dividing parapet4 ,the term 8,vegetables10 used scientifically about ,land ,vegetation1 includes all manner of growths1 from the lichen to the forest tree4 ,but by that word1 used in connection with the ,ocean1 is meant1 not cabbages and cauliflowers1 not garden-plants or forest-trees1 but an enormous variety of ,sea-,weeds4 ,and among ocean-vegetables of humblest form1 flourishing in salt water1 is that of ,diatoms--,flint-makers4 ,it need not be imagined that the manufacture of ,flint is a monopoly of the ,diatom tribe4 ,that would be a mistake4 ,we have had to do in the last chapter with small carbonate-of-lime building jelly-specks4 ,we shall have to do in the next chapter with carbonate-of-lime building jelly-polyps4 ,but there are also little vegetable-growths in the sea which form carbonate-of-lime1 and some of these add their quota to the work of rearing ,coral-reefs4 ,we have to do in the present chapter with small flint-building vegetable-growths4 ,but there are also little animal jelly-specks in the sea which form flint4 ,so neither ,carbonate-of-lime nor ,flint can be spoken of as belonging only to ,animal or only to ,vegetable ,life4 ,they must both be described in general terms as the outcome of that which ,lives4 ,among other ,flint-builders in the ocean are the ,radiolarians2 living jelly-specks1 and makers of the most exquisite shells1 so tiny in size that millions of them may be packed into one cubic inch4 ,these belong to the ,animal ,kingdom4 ,they rank with the ,foraminifera1 differing from them chiefly in the fact that their shells or skeletons are formed of silica1 not carbonate-of-lime4 ,but in this chapter we are concerned with the ,vegetable ,life of the ocean1 and we must therefore let the wonderful ,radiolarians alone4 ,properly the chapter on ,vegetables ought to have come before any chapter on ,animals1 since we have been climbing upward from inanimate ,nature1 and since all vegetables rank below all animals4 ,when on the topic of ,ocean-building1 however1 the subject of ,chalk seemed to follow naturally after that of ,sandstone4 ,and this little volume makes no pretensions to stiff classification4 ,no surprise need be felt at vegetables being able to make or 8secrete0 flint and chalk4 ,this making is1 as we have seen1 an unconscious work4 ,the living jelly-speck secretes automatically1 not with intention4 ,such secreting is not confined to ocean vegetables4 ,trees and plants on land manufacture a host of substances--sweet oil1 cocoa-nut milk1 indiarubber1 and countless others4#b ,forest trees in like manner grow their own framework of hard wood1 which may be said to take the place with them of a skeleton4 #b ,the spicules of silica may be seen on coarse grass1 secreted by the grass4 ,all this is a part of ,,life4 ,inanimate rocks and stones may lie for centuries unchanged1 except through friction with other rocks and stones1 or with running water4 ,but where ,life reigns1 though it be of the simplest kind1 there growth and development must follow4 ,life1 from its very nature1 cannot mean stagnation1 or standing still4 ,it must always be assimilating4 ,it must always be expanding4 ,it must always be doing4 ,when these things cease1 death has begun4 ,so much alike are the lower forms of life in the two classes1 that many an animal has been for a time mistakenly called a vegetable1 and many a vegetable has been for a while supposed to be an animal4 ,the foraminifera were once ranked as vegetables1 and the diatoms were ranked as animals4 ,in deep-sea regions1 dark and cold1 no vegetable life can possibly exist1 not even the almost ubiquitous diatoms4 ,but their remains are present in vast multitudes4 ,as the tiny plant-life dies out1 the little hard vegetable-cases sink to the ocean-bed1 there to mingle with gathering muds and oozes--there1 too1 in the course of ages1 to be transformed into ,flint4 ,diatoms flourish on land as well as in the ocean2 in cold climates as well as in warm4 ,on the whole they prefer the colder regions1 therein differing from the warmth-loving foraminifera4 ,sometimes immense floating banks of these microscopic plants are found1 reaching through many miles4 ,a net1 lowered into such a bank and then drawn up1 is filled with a 8brown-coloured slimy and felt-like mass10 made up chiefly of uncountable myriads of diatoms4 ,such masses are held together by a kind of sticky jelly1 and if the hand is passed through it a very slight roughness may be perceptible1 caused by the flinty diatom shells or cases4 ,mere specks indeed they are1 individually too minute to be seen by a human eye1 unaided4 ,yet how marvellous in their make6 ,a ,diatom plant or vegetable or sea-weed1 whichever we choose to call it1 is like a ,foraminifer of the simplest possible structure4 ,it consists of a single cell1 with an outside flinty coating or inclosure1 answering to the wood of a tree or the skeleton of an animal4 ,this flint casing1 though infinitely small and delicate1 is yet firm enough to prevent the passage of water through it2 and also it is practically indestructible by ordinary forces4 ,diatom-cases1 dropping to the ocean-bed1 may lie there for ages4 ,illustration3 ,,diatom ,,cases 7,,arachnoidiscus ,,japonicus7 ,reproduced by permission of ,messrs4 ,r4 and ,j4 ,beck1 ,ltd41 and ,messrs4 ,j4 and ,a4 ,churchill1 publishers of ,carpenter's 8,the ,microscope0 ,face page #aed ,the living cell is inclosed in the said 8case10 which is a kind of box1 consisting of two halves or 8frustules10 neatly joined together by a ring or girdle4 ,diatoms increase in numbers1 like many of the ,foraminifera1 by simply dividing into two4 ,when the living cell thus parts1 each half takes as its share one side of the box1 and each then makes another side1 or 8frustule10 to complete itself4 ,for this operation1 the tiny ring or hoop doubles into a pair of hoops1 one of which clings to each half of the case4 ,perhaps in all the world no greater marvels are to be seen than these extraordinary minute vegetable-cases4 ,illustration3 ,,part ,,of ,,diatom ,,case 7,,pleurosigma ,,angulatum7 ,magnified #d1ijj diams4 ,from a photo-micrograph by ,dr4 ,r4 ,zeiss ,reproduced by permission of ,messrs4 ,c4 ,zeiss and ,co4 and ,messrs4 ,j4 and ,a4 ,churchill1 publishers of ,carpenter's 8,the ,microscope0 ,face page #aef ,minute6 ,yes4 ,a mass of millions upon millions1 held together1 may be perceived and felt4 ,but let a light scattering of them be dropped upon a slip of glass in broad daylight1 and let a man of keen eyesight set himself to examine them4 ,he will see--nothing6 ,not even an appearance of delicate dust4 ,the diatoms are to him as if they did not exist4 ,then let him put that fine scattering under a good microscope1 changing lens after lens1 to higher powers4 ,a world of beauty1 of finish1 of originality1 of unbounded variety in construction1 will open out before him4 ,each little shell is exquisitely shaped1 exquisitely put together1 exquisitely ornamented4 ,though thousands1 nay1 millions1 of them might be packed into a cubic inch1 yet there has been no carelessness1 no scamping1 in the work1 no saying1 8,nobody will see1 so anything will do40 ,the different kinds of ,diatoms are innumerable2 and each kind1 each species1 even each variety1 has its own especial form1 its own complex design1 followed out and faithfully reproduced in hundreds of millions of individuals4 ,pattern-markings1 by which each variety is distinguished1 formed of an infinitude of delicate lines and dots1 arranged in every imaginable fashion1 vary to an extent almost beyond conception4 ,there are cases round1 triangular1 lengthy1 many-sided1 chain-like--but to picture them in words is hopeless4 ,they have to be studied in their own wonderful minuteness and delicacy1 complexity1 and loveliness1 before they can be known4 ,in all this again we surely find unmistakable evidence of a ,,mind1 hidden1 out of sight1 inventing and designing4 ,not the mind of the vegetable-speck1 which for a brief space is sheltered in the ornate little flint-box1 but of a ,higher ,intelligence--whether that of the ,creator ,himself directly1 or whether1 as may seem to some more probable1 the mind of some intermediate ,worker1 ,divinely appointed to the task4 ,why should not ,angelic or other beings1 in the ,unseen ,world1 be allowed to exercise their powers in such wise1 even as man upon ,earth is allowed to think1 to plan1 to discover1 to devise1 to invent1 according to his mental gifts8 ,some such possibility may well suggest itself to a thoughtful imagination1 as the variety of developments in these tiny sea-shells or cases becomes apparent4 ,all the more1 because the developments are not found scattered1 haphazard1 in single specimens1 but--as above stated--are accurately followed out by the multitudes belonging to each variety4 ,it seems that every individual of every separate kind has power to form certain shapes1 with certain markings1 and no more4 ,it is as if upon each minute speck of vegetable life had been originally impressed its own--not individual character1 but class character4 ,this character unconsciously expresses itself in such and such a form of shell1 just as with men the individual character expresses itself in such and such outlines of face4 ,the same may be said of ,foraminifera and ,radiolarian shells4 ,some ,diatoms have a singular power of movement2 and from this sprang early mistakes1 through which they were wrongly classed as animals4 ,many of them grow1 like ordinary plants1 fixed in one spot4 ,but many others are in continuous and regular motion4 ,careful study has1 however1 made it clear that the movements of ,diatoms are purely mechanical1 purely involuntary1 like those of some sensitive land-plants4 ,it is probably due to the working of food1 taken into the little organism1 and not obedient to any ,will on its part4 ,it may be that herein lies the great difference between a ,diatom and a ,foraminifer4 ,the one exists1 but has no approach to consciousness2 or1 at least1 probably no approach to any power of choice4 ,the other1 though of the very lowest and feeblest type of ,animal-life1 may yet be supposed in its infinitesimal measure to have a wish1 and to be able to act upon that wish4 ,but here we do not get beyond conjecture4 ,where ,life exists1 it may be that in all cases some dim form of consciousness exists also1 which may involve some faint power of choice4 ,flint-making1 like ,chalk-making1 is not only an old-world and long-past operation1 but a present one4 ,diatoms lived and died in ages gone by1 and their remains are found hardened into flint4 ,diatoms live and die in these days2 and their remains may yet1 in centuries to come1 be transformed into the same substance4 ,from ,diatoms one might range upward through an enormous variety of ,ocean-weeds1 of all kinds and descriptions4 ,though they are the 8last and lowest of all the tribes of plants10 yet it is a wide step from the undermost to the uppermost of even this humble ,vegetable ,tribe4 ,at least five or six thousand species of ,sea-weeds are known to ,naturalists4 ,each ocean1 each lesser sea1 has its own particular vegetation1 largely affected by the varying degrees of saltness1 the warmth or coldness of the water1 and the faster or slower currents which happen there to prevail4 ,sea-weeds of all sizes are found1 from the invisible diatoms to enormous growths in ,pacific waters1 reaching to yards upon yards in length1 with solid trunk-like stems1 and huge fronds like those of a tropical palm4 ,near ,tierra del ,fuego immense growths have been seen1 with stems between three and four hundred feet in length4 ,great sub-ocean forests of kelp are there1 and floating fucus-islands1 with leaves or fronds seven or eight feet from base to tip1 covered with living animals1 and having air-vessels several inches long4 ,in the matter of colour no great variety exists4 ,sea-weeds are generally either grass-green1 olive-brown1 or red4 ,the green are usually close to land1 and they never grow beyond touch with direct sunlight4 ,the olive-brown are the more abundant2 and the red belong1 perhaps1 more often to deep water4 ,a large majority grow attached either to stones or to the shallow sea-bottom1 but some kinds float unattached4 ,to this last class belong the masses of weed in the ,sargasso ,sea--the centre of the ,north ,atlantic currents4 ,round that huge collection of weeds and drift1 which reaches over something like two hundred and sixty thousand square miles1 the entire ,north ,atlantic slowly revolves4 ,and of these weeds--called 8,sargassum0--none are attached to rock or ground1 but all float loosely in mid-ocean4 ,they seem to flourish thus1 though the fact that fructification is not found upon them points to a somewhat unusual condition of things4 ,sea-weeds more often multiply by means of spores1 which is a form of vegetable-growth inferior to that of seeds4 ,all spore-growing plants1 whether on land or in the sea1 take a lower rank than seed-growing plants4 ,a still lower and humbler method has been earlier described--that of simply dividing into half4 ,there is yet another way by which ocean-weeds increase1 and it reminds one curiously of the gardener's plan of growth by cuttings4 ,in rough weather1 on shallow reaches not far from land1 the waves tear quantities of sea-weed fronds from their moorings1 and carry them to shore or to rocky parts1 where they become entangled1 and are held fast4 ,there1 if later waves do not again dislodge them1 and if other circumstances are favourable1 the wandering fronds settle down1 attach themselves1 and become fresh plants4 ,so in this case the waves act as gardeners1 and make cuttings of ocean-plants4 ,while plant-life in the ocean is plentiful in amount and abundant in variety1 it is confined within limits4 ,by far the greater part of ,sea-weed existence is contained in the ,hundred-fathom limit--that is1 within six hundred feet of the surface4 ,not many kinds1 indeed1 can grow in anything like as much depth as five or six hundred feet4 ,sea-weeds in abundance are found on shallow shores1 near continents and islands2 on the zone between high and low tides2 and on gently-shelving slopes beyond that zone4 ,floating unattached sea-weeds1 of the type which belongs to the ,sargasso ,sea1 may be anywhere1 over the deepest depths of the ocean4 ,these1 however1 are not found living and growing very far beneath the surface3 and ,ocean's depths are without any kind of vegetable-life1 except probably bacteria4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,coral ,,architects 8,who layeth the beams of ,his chambers in the waters40--,ps4 civ4 #c4 8,and surges roaring from below40--,,dibden4 ,coral is a familiar enough object with us all1 whether in the shape of a child's first plaything1 or a girl's first trinket1 or a ,museum curiosity4 ,it may be red or pink or white2 it may be polished into smoothness or left in its natural state of jagged roughness1 dotted over with tiny pits4 ,in any case1 it is a thing of interest and beauty4 ,in any case1 it is the dead skeleton of a once-living animal4 ,in the ,red ,sea alone about one hundred and twenty kinds of ,coral are found1 and in ,ocean waters the numbers rise rapidly4 ,perhaps one of the species best known to us is the small red coral of the ,mediterranean1 usually gathered from shallow parts1 though sometimes fished up from a thousand feet deep4 ,this kind seldom exceeds ten or twelve inches in length2 and when alive1 the pretty branching skeleton is clothed in a thin tinted jelly-like vesture1 which1 though in a sense one1 is yet no 8single individual40 ,it is formed of many polyps1 all united together1 while each has its own separate mouth1 and each holds out its own tiny feelers for food4 ,once let the branch be taken from the water1 and only one result can follow4 ,life quickly fades2 the enfolding vesture disappears2 and a bare red skeleton is left for use in the market1 to be made into toy or ornament4 ,the word ,coral has other associations4 ,it carries our thoughts far from home to fair isles in tropical seas--isles connected in our memories with tales of shipwrecked mariners and hair-breadth escapes1 of dashing waves and peaceful lagoons1 of breadfruit trees and waving palms1 of perpetual sunshine and endless holidays1 of ,robinson ,crusoe adventures and interesting islanders1 of poisoned arrows and ferocious sharks4 ,such islands do exist1 and in numbers far greater than we commonly realise4 ,at this moment ,i have before me a map of the world1 made for the express purpose of showing 8,coral ,seas10 or the regions where ,coral islands are constructed4 ,and the red patches are astonishingly plentiful1 dotting a broad belt of ocean all round the world1 except where that belt is interrupted by ,continents1 within the limits1 roughly1 of #cj north latitude and #cj south latitude4 ,in the ,west ,indies coral islands abound4 ,travelling westward from ,america we come across the same material1 in extensive regions to the north-east1 the north1 and the north-west of ,australia4 ,tahiti1 ,samoa1 the ,fijis1 the ,solomons1 the ,new ,hebrides1 the ,carolines1 the ,marshall ,islands1 the ,seychelles1 and innumerable others1 are literally made of coral4 ,not made as sandstone and chalk are made1 put together by the slow action of the sea1 far below the surface4 ,this is another kind of making4 ,coral is built by living creatures1 near the surface of the water4 ,all that the waves have to do is1 firstly1 to bring abundance of food to the polyps1 when alive1 since by reason of their ponderous rock-skeletons they cannot go in search of food2 and secondly1 after the death of the polyps1 to break and grind and heap together the skeleton-remains4 ,we have seen something of ocean 8stone-makers10 in the story of ,chalk4 ,here we have the same thing again4 ,as the tiny shells1 which go to the building of chalk1 are the dead remains of once-living jelly-specks1 so these great masses of coral1 forming islands and reefs in southern seas1 are largely the skeletons of once-living polyps4 ,a coral-polyp1 like a jelly-speck1 has power to take lime from sea-water4 ,it has power to secrete carbonate-of-lime4 ,it has power to deposit that carbonate-of-lime in solid masses4 ,but whereas the jelly-speck lives inside its shell1 putting out tiny temporary limbs through holes for food1 the coral-polyp more often lives outside its skeleton1 clothing the dry bones with translucent jelly4 ,this is rather more after the fashion in which man clothes his skeleton4 ,yet because of its make the coral-polyp cannot properly1 in the full sense of the word1 8secrete0 or hide its internal framework4 ,it is hardly fair to speak of 8the polyp0 and of 8it0 in this connection4 8,polyps0 and 8they0 are more correct4 ,for the coral-polyps live in close communities1 in very near fellowship1 acting on co-operative principles of the most advanced kind4 ,each individual may1 it is true1 have its own mouth1 its own tentacles1 and even its own small stomach4 ,but the latter at least can hardly be reckoned as personal property1 since all are so connected that liquids pass freely from one to another1 and the food which is taken in by one polyp helps to nourish its neighbours4 ,and again1 while we speak of coral as being 8built10 that really is not the right word2 unless we may also talk of the 8building0 of a man's skeleton1 or of an elephant's framework4 8,built0 undeniably it is2 but the building implies no conscious effort1 no deliberate intention1 no praiseworthy exertions1 on the part of the builder4 ,coral is simply 8secreted0--is unknowingly and without choice put together by the polyps4 ,there is invention2 there is plan2 there is design4 ,but these belong to a ,mind1 above and beyond and out of sight2 not in anywise to the live jelly which clothes the coral-skeleton1 or to the extremely limited understanding of that co-operative jelly-sheet4 ,not all polyps have stony skeletons4 ,on our sea-shores we have species many1 and individuals by tens of thousands1 which secrete no coral4 ,they are known to us as ,sea-,anemones3 and the first-cousins of these dainty flower-like beings1 inhabiting ,british salt-pools1 construct miles and miles of coral far off in southern seas4 ,some few even among coral-polyps live individual lives1 but the greater number follow the community-system4 ,this must always be looked upon as an inferior way of existence4 ,the most usual way in which polyps increase is by 8budding0--not unlike the growth of a plant by buds4 ,a small lump appears on one side of the parent1 which increases fast in size1 develops a mouth and tentacles1 and by-and-by gives birth itself to other buds4 ,the increase of numbers is enormous4 ,one polyp may produce in a short time thousands or even tens of thousands of descendants4 ,but in the case of coral-polyps the children do not leave the parents or go out into the world4 ,they cling to the old stock2 they partake of the united family-life2 and each little mouth and stomach works for the benefit of all the little stomachs of the whole community4 ,some polyps1 instead of budding like a plant1 increase by division4 ,one polyp separates into two parts1 each of which becomes a full-grown animal2 and each then divides anew2 this plan continuing ad infinitum4 ,here again the growth of numbers is not slow4 ,occasionally1 in place of spreading in branch-like shapes1 they grow in solid rounded masses4 ,such a sphere-like mass in tropical waters of the ,pacific may be twenty feet in diameter--one huge family of united beings1 each perhaps under a twentieth of an inch across1 and all together clothing a skeleton common to the entire clan4 ,in these cases the tips of the branches or the outer edges of the rounded mass are the young polyps1 while the older ones lie lower down or more inward4 ,as the tree or ball of coral grows1 spreading farther1 giving birth to fresh generations of polyps1 the old ones die off4 ,so the living and the dead are found in one community1 in close touch1 on a single branch or a single mound of coral4 ,at the tip of each twig may be the brightly-coloured active jelly1 while the stem below is a dead skeleton4 ,on a solid mass of coral1 twenty feet in diameter1 the whole outside may be alive1 down perhaps to a depth of half-an-inch1 while the whole inside is lifeless bone4 ,that is how the coral grows4 ,living coral is seldom found at any greater depth in the sea than about twenty fathoms1 and the limits of temperature which the polyps can endure are narrow4 ,their growth is quickly checked by water a little too deep or a little too cold1 and by water not very pure4 ,abundance of lime also is needful4 ,an 8atoll0 is a coral-reef standing alone1 generally of a round or oval shape1 with a lake of calm sea-water in its centre1 while ocean-billows thunder on the outer margin4 ,the polyps love those waves2 but they fade and die in the inclosed lagoon1 where the water is not often enough renewed to supply them with food4 ,much the same in make are the ,fringing ,reefs and ,barrier ,reefs1 except that the former skirt the shore more closely1 while the latter may lie at a distance of many miles from island or mainland4 ,it is impossible for the polyps to raise their stony structure above the sea4 ,some kinds can endure exposure to the air for a short time without dying1 but only for a short time4 ,a coral island1 when first built1 is merely level with the ocean-surface at low tide4 ,but old ,ocean carries on the work which the polyps have begun4 ,heavy rollers break incessantly against the reef1 loosening blocks of coral1 some of which are flung bodily upon it1 while others are pounded into sand1 which fills up holes and crevices4 ,gradually thus the whole becomes cemented into hard reef-rock4 ,as this goes on the low island slowly rises1 until it has climbed above high-tide level4 ,then the task can only be completed by waves of exceptional reach4 ,still the grinding of coral to fine sand goes on2 and in time it gains a depth of some inches4 ,and the waves carry seeds and cocoa-nuts to the spot2 and shrubs and trees spring up1 to sow again their own seeds1 and by gradual decay to form mould4 ,thus it comes about that a little island is made ready for man to live on4 ,one might expect these stages to be very slow indeed1 but such events march at the double in tropical climates4 ,in the ,low ,archipelago one atoll was found1 in the space of only thirty-four years1 to have been transformed from a mere rock-reef to a lagoon island1 fourteen miles in length1 with tall trees growing along almost the whole of one side4 ,as a specimen of the sizes to which coral-buildings reach1 the ,maldive ,archipelago may be named4 ,it is a vast collection of islands and reefs1 stretching to a length of four hundred and seventy miles1 and in parts fifty miles broad4 ,barrier-reefs1 reaching through many hundreds of miles1 are even more remarkable4 ,travellers write stirring descriptions of the beauty of these erections4 ,the vivid pen of ,miss ,gordon-,cumming1 for instance1 has painted many a picture of ,pacific reefs1 of thundering breakers1 and dazzling white surf4 ,we are told by her of 8the patches of coral1 sea-weed1 and sometimes white sand1 lying at irregular depths beneath a shallow covering of the most crystalline emerald-green water10 producing 8every shade of aqua-marine1 mauve1 sienna1 and orange1 all marvellously blended40 ,and1 again1 of the wonderful masses of living coral which grow like garden-plants below the clear water1 and of branching shrubs of all imaginable tints1 such as pink1 blue1 mauve1 and primrose4 ,to pluck and carry off these ocean-blossoms would be a vain attempt1 for the 8gelatinous slime0 to which the colours belong 8drips away1 as the living creatures melt and die1 when exposed to the upper air40 ,from the pen of another eye-witness#c we have a description of a visit at low-tide to the barrier-reef of ,levuka1 the old ,fiji capital4 ,we learn that the reef itself consists mainly of dead coral--8rough1 uninteresting1 shapeless limestones1 with a very small covering of seaweed40 ,but after about a quarter of a mile of difficult walking1 the travellers drew near to the 8roaring surf on the outside10 where 8fingery lumps of beautiful live coral began to appear1 of the palest lavender-blue colour40 ,by the time that they were nearly within touch of the spray1 8the whole floor was one mass of living branches of coral40 #c ,the ,hon4 ,ralph ,abercromby4 ,it was not1 however1 until they ventured actually into the water1 beyond the outer verge of the 8great sea-wall10 that they could see for themselves the true nature of the reef4 ,this was the description given4 8,you look down1 and see a steep irregular wall1 extending deeper into the ocean than the eye can follow1 and broken into lovely grottoes and holes and canals1 through which small resplendent fishes of the brightest blue or gold flit fitfully between the lumps of coral4 ,the sides of the natural grottoes are entirely covered with endless forms of tender-coloured coral1 but all beautiful1 and all more or less of the fingery or branching species1 known as madrepores4 ,it is really impossible to draw or describe the sight40 ,equally impossible was it to photograph these fairy grottoes1 8seen through twenty feet of surging water10 though some snapshots were taken in moments when the vast billows withdrew themselves4 ,one difficult question in connection with coral reefs has been--,how can they rise1 as they do1 out of considerable depths1 when coral-polyps cannot live below some twenty fathoms from the surface8 ,two chief explanations have been offered1 each of which has been warmly taken up and defended4 ,one meets the difficulty by means of the theory of a rising and sinking earth-crust4 ,a mountain-top might have been first heaved up to within twenty fathoms of the surface4 ,then later1 while the polyps were building upon it1 the mountain might have slowly sunk4 ,in that case the polyps below would die1 as the water deepened2 but the wall of dead coral would remain1 reaching in time very far down4 ,the other explanation also admits that coral-reefs have been generally built upon sub-ocean heights4 ,but it supposes that height to have been partly raised by volcanic forces1 and afterwards built up to the needed height by a growing collection of oozes and animal-remains1 deposited through ages4 ,many proofs have been found in recent years of the probable truth of the latter theory4 ,still1 it does not of necessity do away with the earlier explanation4 ,here1 once more1 the question may be asked--,why should not both be true8 ,if some submarine peaks have been lifted to just the right level by gradual building up of sediment1 others may have been so raised by volcanic action or crust-crinkling4 ,either way1 it is a marvellous tale4 ,thousands of miles of solid reef-rocks2 hundreds of substantial inhabited islands1 all reared1 inch after inch1 by a mere 8gelatinous slime10 by soft-bodied jelly-like creatures1 first cousins to the dull though pretty anemone of our shores6 ,the thing sounds incredible6 ,a stranger from some far-off world--a stranger even from polar regions on our ,earth1 unlearned in the lore of warmer oceans--might scout the story as absurd4 ,yet no fact in ,natural ,history is better attested1 or stands on a firmer foundation4 ,there is a good deal more in the philosophy of this small world than appears at first sight4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,over ,,the ,,ocean-,,bed 8,the wrecks dissolve above us3 their dust drops down from afar2-- ,down to the dark1 the utter dark1 where the blind white sea-snakes are4 ,there is no sound1 no echo of sound1 in the deserts of the deep1 ,o'er the great grey level plains of ooze1 where the shell-burred cables creep40--,,rudyard ,,kipling4 ,by way of variety1 shall we take a little excursion together1 you and ,i1 into those under-sea regions of which so much has been said in past chapters8 ,regions which the foot of man has never trod2 which the eye of man has never seen2 which1 except in death1 the hand of man has never touched4 ,shall we leave behind the fair ,earth that we love1 the sunshine1 the bright sky1 the fields and hedgerows1 the blue sparkles of ,ocean's surface1 and go down and down1 through a waste of lonely waters1 till our feet rest upon firm ground below8 8,eh1 but it's eerie60 we might say1 were we of ,scots descent4 ,sunlight is at once lost sight of1 and twilight deepens fast4 ,a heavy cyclone may be raging above1 but the troublous turmoil soon ceases to affect us4 ,stormy billows1 with their showers of spray1 cannot disturb the calm of these depths4 ,as we sink lower1 we find ourselves enwrapped in stillness4 ,a creeping current is around us1 yet with movement so gentle that we are not aware of it4 ,during the early part of our descent we come across innumerable sea-weeds2 delicate floating red fronds1 and long brown ribbons tangled together4 ,presently we pass through a sticky slimy mass of ,diatoms1 reaching far to right and left1 and of great depth4 ,untold millions of those tiny vegetables are living and growing together1 in one enormous floating bank4 ,now we have reached the 8hundred-fathom limit10 and as we go beyond it1 we find marked changes from the life we have known above4 ,no seasons here4 ,no variations from summer to winter1 from spring to autumn4 ,only one dead level of perpetual chill1 becoming colder and colder4 ,no light here4 ,no variations from night to day1 from evening to morning4 ,nothing but continuous midnight blackness1 unrelieved by the faintest gleam of sunshine4 ,no plant-life here4 ,no ocean-weeds of any kind4 ,those things we have left behind us1 far above4 ,dead sea-weed fronds are indeed abundant1 sinking slowly downward1 in company with ourselves2 and dead ,diatoms1 with dead microscopic creatures of many kinds1 rain incessantly from the surface waters to the ocean's bed4 ,but they are far too minute for us to feel them1 as they slip noiselessly past4 ,seeing anything1 small or large1 is out of the question4 ,no light2 no waves2 no colour2 no beauty4 ,only unbroken stretches of silent water1 with intense and penetrating cold4 ,a mile or more below we find ourselves on firm ground4 ,this is the topmost peak of a sub-ocean mountain range1 rising from the bottom of the sea4 ,in the darkness we grope our way to the verge1 then slowly walk down its sloping side1 under a ponderous weight of water1 while our feet are upon a sticky unpleasant ooze1 which seems to be everywhere4 ,only not quite everywhere4 ,the nature of the ocean-floor varies4 ,here1 for instance1 we come to a patch of hard ground1 reaching some little way4 ,but the sticky ooze mainly prevails1 varied by less sticky mud4 ,and neither ooze nor mud is always of the same description1 as we should discover if we walked far and examined specimens from each district4 ,there are muds and muds--oozes and oozes4 ,crabs in abundance scuttle over the ground1 as we may know by feeling1 if we have left our boots behind4 ,and slimy creatures of various kinds flourish1 none of them precisely the same as those which inhabit our sea-beaches in regions of light1 yet their near relatives4 ,stooping down1 we touch a rough-coated hedgehog2 and then our fingers come into contact with a mass of slimy tentacles1 which sting sharply4 ,one would like to be able to see1 as well as to feel4 ,but into these depths no gleam of sunlight may ever penetrate4 ,yet1 as we stroll onward1 plodding through the thick plastic ooze1 in the pitchy darkness we become aware of a light1 a hazy light1 drawing near4 ,one does not expect to find a lantern down here in the deep ocean-waters4 ,it positively seems to be a lantern1 moving as if it had a will of its own4 ,and about the small living lantern1 during its approach1 we see many creatures congregated1 swimming and whisking round1 evidently making use of the glimmer to catch their prey4 ,when it has come close1 we find the light to proceed from a soft-bodied jelly-like animal1 which1 as it travels1 carries its own illumination with it4 ,had we in upper regions such power to shine for ourselves1 we should be delightfully independent of artificial light after dark4 ,at first our impression is that the sub-ocean lamp must be a very uncommon phenomenon4 ,but as we go on we encounter another and another--different indeed in species1 yet alike in the possession of natural light-giving organs4 ,it dawns upon our minds gradually that1 even in ocean-depths1 the law of compensation is not unrepresented4 ,even those dark regions1 cut off though they are from all rays of sunlight1 do not lie under total midnight blackness unrelieved4 ,even here1 in these desolate nethermost parts of the ocean1 creatures with eyes may live1 and may find a good use for those eyes4 ,for glimmer after glimmer is seen2 and jelly-like animals under our feet1 when accidentally touched1 give forth rays1 sometimes rays of many colours2 and fishes1 as they flash past1 lend occasional gleams2 and larger uncouth monsters do the same--all helping to light up a world beyond reach of the sun4 ,talk of depths6 ,we are in them at last1 and no mistake4 ,down--down6 ,deeper and deeper6 ,above our heads are piled three or four miles of water1 and the pressure upon our unfortunate bodies is terrific4 ,here creatures of simplest form abound1--,protozoa1 or ,first ,animals1 tiny jelly-like specks1 mere living cells1 too small by far for us to see1 even with the help of animated deep-sea lanterns1 unless we have carried with us a powerful microscope4 ,but we know them to be there4 ,the ooze and mud alone1 when carefully examined1 prove the fact4 ,here are foraminifera1 living and dead2 and skeletons of reef-coral1 all dead2 and specimens of deep-sea coral1 both living and dead2 and remains of bigger creatures innumerable1 which have disported themselves in the waters above4 ,yet not so many of these last as one might have expected1 because of the destructive power of sea-water4 ,there are also plant-like zoophytes1 and disc-shaped jelly-fishes4 ,there are sea-urchins and starfishes4 ,there are sponges in great numbers1 wandering young ones and old ones settled down for life1 once looked upon as vegetables1 now known to be animals4 ,there are molluscs of various kinds4 ,there are long slimy wriggling worms4 ,there are the inevitable crabs1 large and small4 ,there are countless fishes swimming about1 not in the least embarrassed by the astounding fact that they have something like three and a half miles of water between them and fresh air and sunlight4 ,illustration3 ,,deep-,,sea ,,fishes ,face page #ahb ,unexpectedly we come upon a great ship1 lying where it has lately sunk4 ,the busy sea1 always busy even when most quiet1 is hard at work demolishing the structure of the vessel2 though still in the darkness we can feel the tall mast1 the solid sides1 of the noble craft1 which once floated buoyantly far above1 in light of day4 ,now it reposes on the ocean-bed1 never again to be of service to man4 ,its race is run2 its tale is told4 ,alas6 good ship6 which1 but for one fatal storm1 might still be actively engaged in its country's service4 ,but we find no human remains4 ,if they be there1 our searching has failed to alight on them4 ,small wonder1 in the great space and the blackness4 ,a medusa gleam of light has little power to aid us in this search4 ,perhaps slow currents have carried elsewhere the bodies of men who went down with the ship4 ,or perhaps the bones have succumbed already to the destructive working of ocean-waters4 ,or perhaps all on board were saved1 when the gallant vessel sank4 ,let us hope that it was so4 ,we are leaving the sticky ooze and getting into a region of stiff clay4 ,if there were light enough1 we should find it to be of a reddish tint4 ,here we do find bones--remains of creatures of a higher class1 though not of man1 the highest of all4 ,here are sharks' teeth in great abundance1 and many earbones of whales4 ,not much1 after all1 but something that tells of ,life4 ,another lofty mountain height under water1 rising from the ocean-bed4 ,shall we climb it1 and see whither it may lead us8 ,have we not had enough of these black mysterious depths8 ,now up and up1 cautiously feeling our way and using any such glimmers of living light as we come across4 ,by-and-by we find ourselves getting into shallower water4 ,evidently this sub-ocean mountain approaches near to the surface4 ,it will not end1 like the last1 a mile or more beneath4 ,here is a region of solid limestone rocks1 made of reef-coral1 which has been ground and pounded by the waves1 and afterwards cemented firmly together4 ,we are getting into levels where the waves have power4 ,presently the firm limestone is exchanged for coral mud1 and later that gives place to reef-sand4 ,by this time we have around us1 not only living animals but living sea-weeds1 which fact tells of our nearness to sunlight4 ,it may still seem dark to us1 but some light must be able to filter through1 or plant-life could not exist4 ,a few more fathoms of ascent1 and we too are aware of light--dim and faint at first1 yet steadily increasing4 ,shall we step out into the fresh air1 the radiant sunshine1 of a ,south-,sea coral island--into a world of light and life and beauty1 all the fairer and the sweeter in its contrast with those gloomy under-ocean regions through which we have been wandering8 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,multitudinous ,,life 8,this great and wide sea1 wherein are things creeping innumerable1 both small and great beasts40--,ps4 civ4 #be4 8,the dense immensity ,of ever-stirring ,life1 in thy strange forms ,of fish and shell and worm and oozy mud40--,,kingsley4 ,some thirty or forty years ago the knowledge which man had of the 8,great ,deep0 was practically nil4 ,we know a good deal more now1 thanks to the famous voyage of the ,challenger1 and to many other observations1 though still the full sum of our information is small compared with the much that we do not know4 ,in the year #ahgb the good ship ,challenger quitted ,british shores for her long tour of discovery4 ,during nearly three years and a half she cruised about the world1 dipping her instruments into the water at frequent intervals1 measuring the depths1 studying the temperatures1 making note of other conditions1 and bringing up from the ocean-bed materials whereby to judge of the state of that dark nether-world1 hidden from our eyes by intervening miles of water4 ,three and a half years of steady work2 hundreds upon hundreds of soundings2 thousands upon thousands of miles traversed2 tens of thousands of specimens hauled up2 days and weeks and months devoted to unremitting study of those specimens6 ,this is what the ,challenger ,expedition meant4 ,no wonder our knowledge of the ,under-,ocean has grown by leaps4 ,and yet no wonder it is still confined within narrow limits4 ,so enormous is the extent of the ,ocean1--so few comparatively are the parts which have been under close examination6 ,imagine a monster giant striding with vast steps over the sea1 and at intervals of a mile or two dipping a long arm into the depth1 to bring away a handful of whatever might lie upon the bed below4 ,no doubt he might and would thus learn a good deal that he had not known before4 ,still1 at the best1 tens of thousands of square miles would lie around in all directions1 untouched by his searching fingers4 ,this is very much what the ,expedition was able to do4 ,a handful here and a handful there was brought up1 as a specimen of what might be found below4 ,but tens of thousands of square miles1 to north and south and east and west1 remained untouched4 ,none the less1 from these occasional 8dips10 however few by comparison with reaches not examined1 we know far more than our forefathers could have dreamt of as within the bounds of possibility4 ,instruments1 many and complicated1 are used in deep-sea researches--far too many and too complicated to be described here4 ,two or three may be mentioned4 ,sounding-machines proper are largely employed1 sometimes carrying water-bottles1 and always brass tubes1 weighed down by 8sinkers10 which remain behind when the tubes are drawn up full of mud or ooze4 ,small dredges are dragged along the sea-bottom1 gathering whatever may lie there loosely1 and bringing it to the surface4 ,trawls also are necessary1 with beams from ten to seventeen feet in length4 ,such trawls1 held by strong steel cables thousands of fathoms long1 can often lift seven tons of material4 ,into the bottom of a dredge-bag and of a trawl-net fine cloth is frequently sewn1 so that mud and small animals may not slip through and be lost4 ,illustration3 ,,dragging ,,the ,,tow-,,net ,,to ,,catch ,,minute ,,surface ,,animals ,note sailors with small nets ,illustration ,illustration3 ,,beam-,,trawl ,,and ,,tow-,,net ,,employed ,,in ,,deep-,,sea ,,research ,face page #ahh ,immense supplies have been thus dredged and hauled up from the bottom of the sea4 ,muds and oozes1 sands and pebbles1 stones and rocks1 shelly deposits1 volcanic deposits1 remains innumerable of dead plants1 remains still more abundant of animals1 including earbones of whales and teeth of sharks1 and more rarely other parts of animal-skeletons--large1 small1 microscopic1 these all have been1 with infinite care1 with infinite patience1 sorted and examined and classified4 ,teeth and earbones6 ,but where are the great shark-skeletons8 ,where are the mighty bone frameworks of whales8 ,if a whale's earbones lie here1 surely here also must have sunk the enormous carcase4 ,yet all the rest has vanished4 ,all has been dissolved--disintegrated--eaten up1 as it were1 by the black and silent waste of water4 ,sea-water has an extraordinary dissolving power1 much intensified by added pressure at great depths1 and few substances can long withstand that power4 ,not even the massive skeletons of sharks and whales1 with the exception of the teeth and earbones1 which are formed of peculiarly hard material4 ,and never once1 throughout the whole cruise1 was any single bone of ,man brought up from the ocean-bed4 ,after all is this surprising8 ,where even whale-skeletons are mastered1 small chance can remain for a human skeleton to stand out long against absorption4 ,the marvel is how tiny foraminifer shells can last as they do4 ,the majority no doubt disappear4 ,unless they reach the bottom quickly1 and are there covered up and protected1 they must soon be dissolved4 ,yet that vast numbers do thus escape we know by the masses of ooze found over the sea-bottom2 by the fifty millions or more of square miles of the ocean-floor carpeted with coral muds and sands1 and with oozes of foraminifera and kindred shells4 ,only down to a depth of about two miles4 ,beyond that1 carbonate-of-lime shells are seldom found4 ,it is believed that these light shells take as much as three or four days to sink one mile2 and in about two miles they all succumb to the power of sea-water4 ,but the hard little diatom cases are present in all depths1 more especially in ,earth's colder regions1 where they abound most freely4 ,the ocean-bed has been described as one huge sepulchre1 full of the remains of once-living creatures4 ,and this is true2 yet by itself it gives a very one-sided view4 ,not less is the ocean-bed to be described as a world of abounding ,life4 ,everywhere1 throughout the whole sea1 in all parts1 above and below and between--near the surface1 on the floor1 in all intermediate reaches--living creatures flourish in numbers past imagination4 ,not everywhere equally4 ,here may be found a wonderful richness of animal-life4 ,there the explorer may alight on a barren region4 ,yet even those parts more scantily supplied need not be always thus4 ,living creatures in vast hordes1 in enormous companies1 drift to and fro1 rise upwards and sink downwards2 and the district which to-day seems almost devoid of life may to-morrow be thronged with active beings4 ,the ,ocean's inhabitants have been roughly divided into three ,classes-- ,deep-,sea ,life1 ,intermediate ,ocean ,life1 and ,surface ,ocean ,life4 ,the first of these includes all animals which crawl upon the sea-bed1 or which live within about three hundred fathoms of it4 ,the second includes all animals which live between about three hundred fathoms of the sea-bottom and three hundred fathoms of the ocean-surface4 ,the third includes all animals which live within three hundred fathoms of the surface1 and those on shallow shores4 ,by far the greater number of living creatures appear to inhabit the surface regions2 and it may be that the next in number are those on and near the ocean-bed4 ,this1 however1 is uncertain4 ,it is difficult to judge about the intermediate depths4 ,all creatures living there must be extremely good swimmers1 and they are very shy of nets4 ,we cannot readily picture to ourselves the manner of life which goes on in those intermediate parts4 ,creatures there have1 as it seems1 no connection with either the ocean-bed or with shallow shores--no resting-place to which they may turn--in short1 no home4 ,though one may not realise the fact1 few animals within our ken have not something in the shape of a home1 a pied terre1 to use a familiar term1 though that 8terre0 may be under water4 ,the very idea of a life spent always in swimming or floating through boundless depths1 never touching firm ground1 having no kind of home or retreat1 suggests vagabondage1 and sounds disconsolate4 ,it may be that the difficulty is at least partly met by those great floating banks of living creatures which are often found4 ,diatom-,banks have been already spoken of4 ,but other animals of larger growth also band together1 forming vast companies4 ,to each individual in such a congeries the ,floating ,bank would be a home4 ,it would matter little to that individual whether the bank as a whole floated here or drifted there1 whether it rose at night to the surface of the sea1 or whether in daytime it sank lower to escape from the sun's glare4 ,many such banks of life belong strictly to the ,surface ,class rather than to the ,intermediate4 ,but the want of a home applies equally to all creatures who live a free and roving life in the ,ocean1 unattached to shore or to sea-bed1 whether they live above or below the three-hundred fathom limit4 ,another puzzling question has been as to how deep-sea creatures are fed4 ,in ,life on terra firma1 generally1 the work of plants is to make ready food for animals4 ,many substances1 which are needful for animal-structure1 cannot be taken in by them until broken up and re-made by plants4 ,and plants can only carry out this task in sunlight4 ,where the light of the sun fails1 there plant-life fails also4 ,but direct vegetable food is not always necessary4 ,arctic animals--bears1 seals1 walruses1--cannot get it except at second or third hand1 through the bodies of other animals4 ,perhaps this was forgotten by some who maintained that no animals could1 by any possibility1 flourish in ocean's greater depths4 ,numberless observations have now thrust that theory on one side4 ,by the dredgings and trawlings of the ,challenger1 not to speak of later explorations1 it has been conclusively proved that1 even down to great depths1 animal life is marvellously plentiful4 ,two or three examples may be given4 ,a single haul1 made in water more than a mile deep1 brought up animals of two hundred different kinds4 ,another haul1 in a depth of two miles1 had the same result4 ,another1 in a depth of three miles1 brought up fifty different kinds4 ,all these it was known1 by tokens learnt from close study and much experience1 had certainly lived near the bottom4 ,again1 from depths of four miles many creatures1 including fishes1 appeared4 ,even in a depth of over five miles1 signs of life were not lacking4 ,who1 after this1 may venture to name a depth at which ,life is altogether impossible8 ,although plants cannot live and grow in the darkness of nether ocean1 their decaying remains are incessantly raining downward from higher levels4 ,animals in the intermediate parts1 and perhaps also near the sea-bed1 can feed largely upon these falling sea-weeds4 ,immense quantities are doubtless snapped up en route2 but many also reach the ocean-floor undevoured1 since vegetable-remains often figure in the muds and oozes brought up thence4 ,deep-sea animals are very extensively eaters of mud and ooze and clay4 ,it does not sound like appetising fare1 or what our grandparents used to describe as 8palatable40 ,but the palate of a deep-sea fish or crab differs from that of a man2 and since no better vegetable-food offers itself1 they are probably content4 ,that the said creatures do really subsist in a measure upon such materials1 is known for a fact4 ,when drawn up to the surface1 they are found often to have their stomachs full of the mud or ooze or clay which in that particular place carpets the ocean-bed4 ,even in far shallower waters1 not much removed from the 8hundred-fathom line10 though still beyond the region of living sea-weed1 crabs dredged up are found to have indulged freely in the same frugal rations4 ,there is of course no difficulty as to animal-food in any depth4 ,the fight for life goes on below1 as above2 and the weaker succumbs to the stronger1 or the less cunning to the more subtle1 in the deep as within reach of sunlight4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,ocean ,,flowers ,,and ,,lamps 8,these are the works of the ,lord and ,his wonders in the ,deep40 ,ps4 civ4 #bd4 8,every track ,was a flash of living fire40--,,coleridge4 8,we have already learned10 wrote ,albert1 ,prince of ,monaco1 not long since1 in reference to recent ,ocean researches--8that a whole world of ,fishes1 ,molluscs1 ,annelids1 ,medus1 ,cephalopoda1 and ,crustaceans1 come to the surface at night1 and return before day to a depth of some hundreds of fathoms1 forming a living tide which ebbs and flows in every sea40 ,letting alone for the moment other creatures mentioned in the above list1 let us think about the vast world of ,,medus--of ,,jelly-,,fishes and their relatives--with which the ,ocean is largely peopled4 ,whether ,hydroids1 ,jelly-fishes proper1 ,coral-polyps1 or ,sea-,anemones1 they all belong to a low order in the ,animal ,kingdom4 ,higher1 certainly1 than the minute specks of life described in past chapters2 higher than ,foraminifers2 higher than ,sponges2 but lower than ,sea-urchins and ,starfishes2 very much lower than ,worms and ,oysters4 ,they vary immensely in size1 ranging from minute jelly-bags1 without limbs or heads1 mouths or stomachs1 to great masses of jelly-like substance1 with eyes and mouths and powerful stinging apparatus4 ,all these are included in the circle of near relatives to the 8,medus10 which name was first bestowed upon the anemones from a supposed likeness between the snaky tresses of the mythological ,medusa and the tentacles of these soft-bodied animals4 8,ocean-flowers10 many of them may truly be called1 since they live and grow1 rooted like a plant to one spot2 since also they put forth veritable buds and blossoms4 ,only they are in nature not vegetable1 but animal4 ,many of these ocean blooms are exquisitely beautiful2 but they may not always be gathered with impunity4 8,ocean-lamps10 too1 many may with truth be named4 ,large numbers of the coral-polyps1 large numbers of the hydroids1 and perhaps all of the free-swimming medus or jelly-fishes1 carry with them their own little lanterns1 wherewith at night to make bright the surface of the sea--wherewith also to bear glimmers of light downward into those black depths where sunlight cannot reach4 ,that ,jelly-fish which 8swam in a tropical sea10 and said1 8,this world it consists of ,,me60 must have been an unusually intelligent specimen of its kind4 ,jelly-fishes in general are not credited with even much bodily sensation1 far less with mental originality4 ,coral-polyps have had their meed of attention in an earlier chapter4 ,there is a near relationship between the reef-builders of equatorial seas and the anemones of ,british sea-beaches4 ,but the anemone is a creature of distinctly higher development than the co-operative coral-polyp4 ,it has at least the great gift of individuality1 which its reef-cousins have not4 ,sea-anemones have been compared to garden asters1 and indeed the resemblance is not slight4 ,the living tentacles of the one might almost be taken for a rough copy of the thick petals of the other4 ,in general form sea-anemones are round soft disc-like bodies1 surrounded or trimmed by a border of fleshy tentacles1 and mounted on a thick fleshy stalk or cylinder1 which is usually either fastened to a rock or buried in the sand4 ,they vary in size between half-an-inch and more than a foot in diameter4 ,a splendid specimen1 to be found in the ,pacific1 is fourteen inches across the disc4 ,these creatures are not without a limited power of moving from place to place2 though1 in the case of most 8attached0 anemones1 movement is extremely slow4 ,a few kinds do not attach themselves at all1 but rove freely through ocean-waters1 after the fashion of their cousins the jelly-fishes4 ,one particular species1 which seems to approve of change of scene1 and yet not to love exertion1 has hit upon a clever dodge4 ,when quite young it fixes itself upon the shell of a certain kind of crab2 and as it grows larger1 it gradually covers the whole back of the crab4 ,where the crab goes1 the anemone goes2 when the crab rests1 the anemone rests4 ,oddly enough1 the crab does not appear to object to his burden4 ,this is no mere accidental comradeship1 seen only in rare cases2 for that special description of crab is never seen without its friend the anemone perched confidingly upon its back2 and that special description of anemone is never seen without its friend the crab for a steed4 ,a sea-anemone1 like a coral-polyp1 has a mouth and a stomach4 ,but unlike the coral-polyp1 it has the mouth and stomach for its own use1 not merely in trust for the benefit of the whole community4 ,when the pretty flower-like creature wishes to open itself out1 it takes in a quantity of salt water4 ,when it wishes to shut itself up1 it spurts the water out1 drawing its tentacles close4 ,both mouth and stomach are elastic2 and it is able to swallow animals that are very little smaller than itself4 ,sometimes it gulps up greedily a whole crab or bivalve1 digesting the soft animal parts1 and getting rid of the useless shell as easily as it gets rid of water1 when about to close4 ,soft and mild and helpless as a sea-anemone may seem1 it is really far from being defenceless4 ,within that plump body1 around the mouth1 in the skin1 about the tentacles1 and along the slender hanging white cords1 lie concealed thousands1 even millions1 of weapons4 ,each weapon is a very fine and delicate thread of hollow make1 curled tightly up in a minute cell1 ready for use4 ,when a sea-anemone desires to injure or to kill1 either in defence or in attack1 it darts out a number of these little 8lassos0 as they are called4 ,each lasso is not merely unwound1 but is actually turned inside out1 as you may turn a stocking inside out1 when drawing it off4 ,and as the instantaneous process takes place1 poison flows with the tiny dart into the wound that is made4 ,small though each lasso may be1 when dozens or hundreds of them are launched together1 the result is not contemptible1 even as regards man2 and ocean creatures die fast from the poison4 ,a cell which contains a lasso is about one five-thousandth of an inch across2 and two hundred lassos1 placed end to end1 would reach to about an inch in length4 ,when once a lasso has been darted forth1 it can never again be used1 because it cannot be returned to the cell4 ,but so great are the supplies of them1 that a sea-anemone never gets to the end of its armoury4 ,even if all were used1 others would speedily grow in their place4 ,some kinds of animals1 living in the sea and of service to man1 are in danger of being thinned out of existence by the incessant ravages of net and trawl1 of hook and harpoon4 ,not so the world of ,anemones4 ,so vast are their numbers1 so rapid is their increase1 that no antagonistic forces can annihilate them4 ,it has been said that if every anemone on ,british shores were one day swept away1 carried off by an army of ardent naturalists1 or destroyed by waves in some tremendous tempest1 the next inflowing tide would bring a fresh supply1 sufficient to fill all gaps4 ,not less numerous1 perhaps far more numerous1 are the countless hordes of ,jelly-fishes1 so called1 though they are not fishes--of ,sea-nettles1 so called1 though they are not nettles4 ,they travel freely through the ocean depths1 like fishes2 and they sting sharply1 like nettles4 ,yet they are neither4 ,another name given to them is that of 8,sun-fishes10 because in calm weather they often float close to the surface of the sea1 as if delighting to bask in sunshine4 ,one could almost imagine that1 after the fashion of modern 8luminous paint10 they are taking in sunlight1 to carry stores thereof later into dark depths1 for the benefit of less favoured comrades4 ,but let a heavy storm arise1 and swiftly these fragile creatures wend their way into the placid depths1 beyond reach of wind and wave4 ,many years ago a story was told of a certain farmer1 who had heard that medus were particularly good as manure4 ,he had large supplies of them carted to his land1 with much expense and trouble4 ,not till later did he learn how small a part of the creatures consisted of anything but water2 how easily he might have had the whole mass of them dried1 and then carried by hand1 at almost no cost4 ,medus1 as earlier stated1 are of all sizes1 from tiny translucent bags of liquid to huge discs of jelly-like substance1 rivalling a man's umbrella in diameter4 ,they are also of all kinds and shapes4 ,many of umbrella-shape have1 in place of a handle1 bundles of fleshy tentacles hanging down below1 and thin streamers reaching to a length of a hundred feet4 ,some are more like saucers or bowls4 ,others of longer and narrower make have been likened to large thimbles4 ,some are ribbon-like beings1 moving in graceful serpentine folds4 ,others have the outlines of elegant tubes4 ,many1 again1 are like little inverted delicate shrubs1 or fairy-seaweed fronds1 hanging downward4 ,some carry sail upon the surface of the water4 ,while all are of a more or less jelly-like substance1 some are so frail and watery that they can only be lifted out of the sea in a pail4 ,any other mode causes them to drop to pieces4 ,but the most wonderful and beautiful characteristic of the jelly-fish is that of its self-illuminating power4 ,here is a description of one kind1 found in the ,atlantic1 near the coast of ,north ,america3-- 8,objects of more exquisite beauty than some of these hydroid-medus do not perhaps exist4 ,each minute crystal chalice1 with its beautifully curved outline1 elongated delicate tentacles1 gently coiling and uncoiling1 and its slender proboscis which hangs like a lamp in the centre1 lighting it with a soft phosphorescent glow1 is the very type of delicate beauty1 suggesting the wonders of fairyland40#d #d ,j4 ,s4 ,,kingsley4 ,and here is another description1 no less striking2 not this time of a floating medusa1 but of a small coral-zoophyte1 about ten inches long1 common in the ,mediterranean and in the ,atlantic3-- 8,nothing can exceed the beauty of the elegant opaline polyps of this zoophyte when fully expanded1 and clustered like flowers on their orange-coloured stalk2 a beauty1 however1 almost equalled by night when1 on the slightest irritation1 the whole colony glows from one extremity to the other with undulating waves of pale green phosphoric light4 ,a large bucketful of these ,alcyonaria was experimentally stirred up one evening1 and the luminosity evolved produced a spectacle too brilliant for words to describe4 ,the supporting stem appeared always to be the chief seat of these phosphorescent properties1 and from thence the scintillations travelled onward to the bodies of the polyps themselves40#e #e ,corals and ,coral ,islands1 by ,,dana4 ,travellers in all ages have described the marvellous illuminations seen at night on the ocean surface2 illuminations long a mystery to those who gazed with admiration4 ,at times the whole sea is one blaze of light2 and the ship cleaves her way through liquid silver1 or crimson glory1 through milky whiteness or flames of blue and red4 ,and the greater part1 if not the whole1 as we now know1 is due to uncountable multitudes of jelly-creatures1 floating close to the surface1 each contributing its tiny share to the radiant sheen4 ,sometimes they are large enough to be visible to the naked eye1 but more generally they are minute microscopic beings1 far too small individually to be seen by us1 yet apparent in the mass by their united brilliance4 ,if millions of their glowing lamps shine in ocean's deeper parts1 we need no longer marvel to find deep-sea animals with large and well-developed eyes4 ,while on this subject1 it should be added that the ,medus have not a monopoly of ocean-lamps4 ,other creatures share in the task of lighting up those midnight depths4 ,not long since two new species of fishes were discovered off the ,azores1 both of which possessed delicate organs of light-giving power4 ,in one of them the rows of tiny lamps could be used or hidden 8at will0--allowed to shine upon the world around1 or shut off by a thick dark skin1 somewhat after the fashion of a policeman's 8dark lantern40 ,cuttlefishes too have been found carrying natural lamps for sub-ocean use4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,armoured ,,myriads ,,and ,,monsters 8,the ,sea hath its ,pearls40--,,longfellow4 8,from out thy slime ,the ,monsters of the ,deep are made40--,,byron4 ,among the multitudinous hosts of living creatures which throng the ,ocean1 vast hordes are furnished with some kind of protective armour1 the better to take their part in the ceaseless warfare for existence4 ,though the armour differs widely in different kinds of animals1 they offer one and all a great contrast to the soft jelly-like ,medus4 ,starfishes and ,sea-urchins1 for example1 are guarded by tough or hard skins1 with actual plated armour and sharp prickles4 ,limpets are sheltered behind single firm shields1 and in any moment of peril become instantly glued by suction to a rock4 ,oysters dwell within stout bivalve shells4 ,hermit-crabs carry with them empty purloined shells1 of other creatures' construction4 ,crabs and ,lobsters wear strong suits of sheltering armour1 joined together bit by bit1 as knights and squires of old were clothed from head to foot in the many 8pieces0 of a medival soldier's military suit4 ,the armoured hosts belong to various divisions in the ,animal ,kingdom1--starfishes and sea-urchins to one2 limpets and oysters to another2 crabs and lobsters to a third4 ,and all three1 together with microscopic jelly-specks and sponges and coral-polyps and medus1 belong to a much greater ,division1 which embraces all 8,invertebrate0 or ,backboneless creatures4 ,if they have not backbones and ribs1 they have skeletons of a kind4 ,only1 as a general rule1 the skeletons lie outside or are visible through the transparent body1 instead of being hidden away inside1 as in most fishes4 ,the prickly-skinned starfishes and sea-urchins are familiar objects with most of us4 ,both belong to a ,division in the ,animal ,kingdom which is well above the level of jelly-fishes4 ,both have arms or rays1 proceeding from a central disc4 ,but in the starfish the rays are separated2 in the sea-urchin they are joined together4 ,starfishes and sea-urchins are able to move and even to travel1 though in most cases with extreme deliberation4 ,both can put out little tube-feet suckers1 by means of which they can change their position1 and can even slowly right themselves1 when turned the wrong way up4 ,sometimes the sea-urchin uses its sharp spines as an additional means of getting along4 ,and while the common starfish can seldom advance faster than at a rate of about one half-inch per minute1 there is a species which flings itself forward in a more reckless and rapid style1 by using its rays as limbs4 ,starfish and sea-urchin are alike protected by an armour of hard little plates1 arranged in neat rows upon the skin4 ,not plates made in a workshop1 and purchased by the owner for its use1 but unknowingly secreted by the animal itself2 formed1 like ,foraminifera shells1 from lime drawn out of the water4 ,between these plates are tiny openings2 and through those openings are put out the minute tube-feet4 ,even in armour made by skilled workmen for human beings1 joints have always been necessary2 and we know from history how many a gallant fighter in past centuries was slain by an arrow piercing where a joint allowed it to enter4 ,certain members of the immense ,worm ,family1 living in the sea1 wear protective scales and bristles2 but these can only be named in passing4 ,the great ,,mollusc ,family is found throughout the whole ,ocean1 from sea to sea1 from shore to shore1 from the surface to the utmost depths4 ,it includes numberless subdivisions1 and enormous varieties in shape and size1 in colouring and kind4 ,it contains millions of the tiniest little fragile shells1 such as those described by the poet in well-known lines3-- 8,slight1 to be crushed with a tap ,of my finger-nail on the sand40 ,it contains also the giant clams of southern seas1 the hugest bivalves ever seen1 one pair of which may weigh five hundred pounds4 ,a ,mollusc is usually a soft-bodied creature1 with a so-called 8foot10 a nervous system1 a mouth1 a 8mantle10 and a protecting one-valve or two-valve shell4 ,the 8mantle0--a peculiarity of this family--is a curious loose fold of the skin or wall of the body1 wrapped round like a mantle4 ,from the 8mantle0 is formed or secreted the hard shell1 largely composed of carbonate-of-lime4 ,in the shell itself there are no blood-vessels1 there is no actual life2 and it cannot grow1 as the creature within it grows4 ,yet in a sense it grows1 since by the addition of constant fresh layers to the edges it becomes larger and larger1 thus accommodating itself to the increased size of its inhabitant4 ,mollusc shells are of all imaginable shapes and kinds2 and often they are of extraordinary beauty4 ,sometimes they are thick and hard1 so as to refuse the passage of light4 ,sometimes they are so thin as to be translucent4 ,sometimes they are exquisitely pearly or iridescent4 ,the latter effect1 seen in the mother-of-pearl lining of oyster shells1 is due to enormous numbers of most fine and delicate lines1 close together1 which reflect and break up the rays of sunlight1 much after the manner of a prism4 ,perhaps in the whole ,mollusc ,family none of the members are so interesting to man as the oyster--partly as a much-relished food1 partly as the manufacturer of pearls4 ,among gems worn by women few are fairer1 none more emblematic of purity and grace1 than these4 ,yet1 so far as relates to any intention on the part of the oyster1 any idea of forming that which is lovely and valuable1 no thanks whatever are due to the producer4 ,an oyster makes pearls simply for its own convenience4 ,as in the case of other bivalves1 if any foreign substance happens to get inside the shell1 and cannot be pushed out1 it is straightway covered over1 and thereby rendered harmless4 ,sometimes the intruder is a grain of sand1 sometimes a parasite4 ,oftener yet1 it is an oyster-egg which has proved a failure4 ,in any event1 the oyster promptly clothes it in that beautiful material--pearl--which it secretes by nature1 and because it cannot do otherwise4 ,we know well enough the ordinary size of 8edible0 oysters4 ,the pearl-forming relatives are often much larger1 having shells from eight to twelve inches in diameter4 ,one does not commonly associate the idea of ,mind with a ,limpet4 ,yet it appears that even limpets are not without the organ of locality4 ,human beings1 brilliant in other respects1 are sometimes woefully deficient in this quality4 ,but a limpet knows what he is about as to the geography of his own locality4 ,he chooses his resting-place with care1 much preferring a smooth rock-surface to one that is broken or dented4 ,then he clings fast1 and the shell in its growth is studiously adjusted to the outlines of that selected surface4 ,when the limpet 8excursionises0 in search of sea-weeds1 vegetables being a needful part of his diet1 it is remarkable that he returns to the same spot4 ,evidently he prefers his own home to new quarters4 ,these lower ,molluscs have to be passed over quickly4 ,a whole volume might be filled in merely indicating the different species and varieties of them4 ,at the top of the ,mollusc ladder1 cousin to limpets1 whelks1 oysters1 clams1 and shell-fish innumerable1 but in status far above them all1 we find the powerful ,cuttlefish4 ,a 8fish0 in popular language2 yet no fish truly1 but a very highly developed ,mollusc4 8,cephalopod0 or 8,head-footed0 is the distinguishing name for this sub-class of ,molluscs4 ,very unpleasant creatures they are to tackle--more particularly those described by the familiar titles of 8,octopus10 8,squid10 and 8,devil-fish40 ,more particularly too when an individual of large dimensions has to be reckoned with4 ,the species that make their home near ,british shores seldom reach any great size4 ,they cannot for a moment be compared with the great creatures of warmer climes2 still less with the monsters of ,ocean's depths4 ,yet it is not desirable to have a hand or a foot in their tenacious grip4 ,most of us have seen small specimens in an aquarium--evil-looking at the best4 ,sometimes individuals of the large species visit us from a distance1 though they probably do not take up their abode by choice in our neighbourhood4 ,the body of a cuttlefish1 like the bodies of most ,molluscs1 is enwrapped in a loose mantle1 which in this instance is of strong and muscular make1 perpetually enlarging and contracting4 ,from the one opening in the mantle emerges the head1 with two large eyes and a mouth2 and round the latter1 which generally boasts a sharp beak like that of a parrot1 spring eight or ten long lissom powerful 8arms0 or limb-like tentacles1 each furnished with a row of suckers1 which in the smaller kinds look rather like buttons4 ,through the opening at its neck the creature draws in and pours out water--breathes it in and out1 in fact4 ,when in repose1 this breathing goes on quietly and automatically4 ,but if the animal wishes to move1 it forces the water out in a violent spurt through what is called the 8siphon10 always in a direction opposite to that in which it intends to go4 ,so great is the force thus employed that the cuttlefish rushes with wonderful speed1 often with lightning-like rapidity1 through the water4 ,while not protected by outside armour1 like limpets and oysters1 it really does secrete a shell2 but the shell is inside instead of outside the mantle1 stiffening the latter1 though not protecting it from injury4 ,in its case1 however1 the weapons of offence are sufficient1 and there is less need for defensive armour4 ,in the cuttlefish we have a very tiger of the ocean1 haunting vast areas in numbers which cannot be calculated4 ,one or two kinds are known which prefer to live solitary lives1 but usually they herd together4 ,woe betide all weaker creatures where they abound6 ,once caught in those powerful arms1 within reach of the fierce beak1 no chance for them remains4 ,molluscs1 crabs1 fishes1 all alike fall victims to this ruthless destroyer4 ,it is said that the cuttlefish1 like its striped prototype on land1 will kill when not hungry for the pure pleasure of killing4 ,the smaller species are a principal article in the diet of dolphins and of codfishes4 ,but the giants of the race would be in all cases too much for these puny foes4 ,even a ,bengal tiger1 however1 may be mastered by an elephant2 and the mightiest of squids has to succumb before the yet mightier sperm whale4 8,the monsters vast of ages past0 received attention in a well-known poem4 ,but the monsters vast of ocean-depths in the present may surely compete with them4 ,happily for mankind1 these awful creatures do not frequently come out of their 8ocean-caves0 to be interviewed4 ,now and again one is caught1 or is flung ashore by a storm1 or its dead remains are found and examined4 ,one huge creature1 captured near ,labrador1 was reported to have a body thirteen feet long1 with arms reaching to a distance from the head of thirty-seven feet4 ,another1 left by the retreating tide on a ,newfoundland beach1 had a body twenty feet long1 and arms about the same in length as those last mentioned4 ,but no more striking description has been given than that of ,mr4 ,frank ,bullen1 in his fascinating volume1#f when he tells of the tremendous midnight conflict between a large sperm whale and1 surely1 the monarch of the squids1 8almost as large as himself1 whose interminable tentacles seemed to embrace the whole of his great body40 ,the whale's head 8seemed a perfect network of writhing arms10 and by its side 8appeared the head of the great squid1 as awful an object as one could well imagine even in a fevered dream1 with immense black eyes1 at least a foot in diameter40 ,as the 8titanic struggle went on10 the whale1 8in a business-like methodical way10 munched at his huge enemy1 gradually overcoming its resistance4 #f ,cruise of the ,cachalot4 ,such a battle-royal as this is perhaps very seldom to be seen1 even by those who spend their lives upon the sea4 ,it may be that these terrible creatures rarely come to the surface1 unless compelled to do so by a hungry whale4 ,what they must be to the denizens of the deep1 ever watching for prey1 or pursuing it with swift determination in the darkness--8every cup-shaped disc of the hundreds with which the restless tentacles are furnished ready at the slightest touch to grip whatever is near1 not only by suction1 but by the great claws set all round within its circle--and in the centre of this network of living traps 444 the chasm-like mouth1 with its enormous parrot-beak0--all this and more has been pictured by ,mr4 ,bullen1 from personal observation1 in words which cannot be strengthened4 ,no tale of monsters in bygone ages can well exceed it4 ,if further proof be needed of the part played by cuttlefishes in the larder of ,sperm whales1 it is given by those whales1 which1 when harpooned and in their dying agonies1 throw up the contents of their vast stomachs4 ,out of the stomachs come great masses of undigested cuttlefish1 cubic blocks many feet in diameter1 swallowed whole and not yet broken up4 ,in #ahie an immense cuttlefish was thus disgorged by a whale1 and was found on examination to belong to a new and unknown species4 ,the head had vanished2 but the body was clothed in a strong armour of neatly arranged scales4 ,so this was veritably an 8armoured0 kind4 ,another monster1 ejected from the stomach of another whale1 had great suckers1 each sucker being supplied with 8claws as powerful as those of a tiger40#g ,this last also had ocean-lamps1 or 8phosphorescent organs10 doubtless a help to himself in ocean depredations1 and an added terror to myriads of fleeing fishes4 #g ,geographical ,journal1 ,nov41 #ahih4 ,yet neither strength nor speed1 nor grasping arms1 nor clinging suckers1 nor tiger-like claws1 nor parrot-like beak1 can protect the cuttlefish against its supreme foe1 the ,sperm whale4 ,but it has a method of defence1 or rather of escape1 often efficacious even here4 ,when in danger1 it is able to pour forth a copious stream of black liquid1 which so thickens and darkens the water around1 that the wily creature is hidden1 and slips away beyond reach of its pursuer4 ,the nervous system of the ,cuttlefish is more developed than that of other ,molluscs4 ,indeed1 from the remarkable changes of colour seen when it is excited1 and the tubercles which spring to view on its skin if it is made angry1 one would be inclined to speak of its temperament as 8highly irritable40 ,it also shows much more understanding than its cousins1 the oysters and the clams4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,a ,,goodly ,,company ,,of ,,crabs 8,the slimy bottom of the ,deep40--,king ,richard ,,iii4 ,in all the wealth of ,ocean-life1 perhaps no creature flourishes more abundantly than do ,crabs and their relatives4 ,we still talk of ,jelly-fishes1 ,starfishes1 ,craw-fishes1 ,cuttlefishes1 but no longer of ,crab-fishes4 ,once upon a time that name was equally common4 ,everything that had its home in the sea was popularly supposed to be a fish4 ,we know now that not one of the above belongs to any ,fish tribe2 yet in ,conservative style we keep the old titles going4 ,crabs and ,lobsters1 ,shrimps and ,prawns1 are members of the vast ,,crustacean division or family4 ,they are so called on account of the hard protecting crust1 or armour1 by which their soft bodies are guarded4 ,chief and foremost among the numberless kinds included under this head is the busy vigorous sidling ,crab4 ,and very important animals are crabs1 in the economy of the ,ocean4 ,not only from their enormous numbers2 not only from the wide extents of land and sea which own to their presence2 not only from the fact that they form a principal item of food to fishes and even to whales2 but also because at least one species is reckoned excellent eating for man4 ,there are land-crabs as well as sea-crabs4 ,there are deep-sea crabs1 as well as shallow-water and shore crabs4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,deep-,,sea ,,crab ,the holes in front are for the admission of water containing nutritious animal food ,face page #bbj ,there are crabs much less than half-an-inch across2 and there are giant ,japanese crabs1 carrying heavy back-armour or 8carapace10 about a foot in length and breadth1 while the sprawling limbs extend to a yard and a half or more on either side4 ,those of ordinary sizes are found everywhere2 in numbers beyond reckoning4 ,not only in tropic waters1 but in moderate climes1 and in frigid zones2 alike near the poles and under the equator4 ,different species1 of course1 in different parts1 but all connected4 ,moreover1 they are quite as much at home in the depths of the sea1 with miles of water piled over their heads1 as on shelving beaches near to land4 ,during the ,challenger ,expedition crabs were fished up from all depths--from one mile1 two miles1 three miles1 even between three and four miles4 ,in those dark and icy regions the cold must be great1 the pressure tremendous2 still crabs innumerable are there4 ,some sub-ocean kinds have displayed what may be looked upon as an inquiring disposition4 ,a ship passing near the ,azores brought up in a trap many large ones1 belonging to a then new species4 ,and the curious part of the matter was that not all of them need have come4 ,some were entrapped1 and could not get away2 but others rose to the surface of their own free will1 clinging to the outside of the trap1 and not attempting to escape1 even when drawn out of the water1 and on deck4 ,perhaps they were dazzled by the unaccustomed brightness of light1 after the few and feeble glimmers below4 ,but the puzzle remains--why1 in the beginning1 they should have chosen to leave their home1 and to journey upward into unknown regions8 ,were they of an aspiring character8 ,had they friends caught in the net1 from whom they would not be parted8 ,or was the attraction merely that of the appetising food which those friends were enjoying8 ,an interesting haul was one day made by the ,challenger while crossing the ,bay of ,biscay2 not indeed from a great depth1 since the ,bay is in no part very profound1 but from the sea-bed4 ,more than five thousand small sharp-clawed crabs came up in company2 and they took quite kindly to the new conditions of life on board4 ,they cheerfully explored the whole vessel1 turning up in every direction1 during the next few days4 ,something in the nature of a love for home has been shown by crabs1 at least in one instance4 ,many years ago a singular story to this effect was told in a scientific paper4#h #h ,nature1 ,april #crd1 #ahgc4 ,the fishermen of ,falmouth1 capturing crabs off the rocks at ,lizard ,point1 brought them by boat to ,falmouth ,harbour1 and kept them there till needed1 in a box sunk under water1 some four miles out4 ,each crab had been branded on the back with its owner's mark4 ,by accident one of these boxes was broken2 and all the prisoners made good their escape4 ,naturally1 no one expected to see them again4 ,but only two or three days later those very same crabs--with branded carapaces--were caught anew by the fishermen2 not near ,falmouth1 but as before1 off the ,lizard4 ,how they had managed to get there1 how they had first found their way to ,falmouth ,harbour1 a distance of four miles1 and then for miles more along the coast1 are questions more easily put than answered4 ,the word 8instinct0 fails to meet the difficulty4 ,one thing only is clear1 that they preferred the neighbourhood to which they were accustomed4 ,very fearless creatures are small crabs1 generally2 brave1 no doubt1 partly because of their numbers4 ,in nets and trawls1 where animals of many kinds are together for long hours of captivity1 the weak are often destroyed by the strong1 before they can be drawn up4 ,but sometimes the weak combine together1 and prove too much for the strong4 ,notably this was the case1 when a dog-fish1 brought up from a depth of over fourteen hundred fathoms1 was entirely disposed of in twenty hours by crowds of hungry little crustaceans4 ,most of the crabs and lobsters1 shrimps and prawns1 which live on or near the bottom1 send their young ones up into higher levels for education4 ,there for a while the juveniles swim and develop1 till old enough in their turn to take to the ocean-bed4 ,great numbers have meanwhile been preyed upon by multitudes of fishes in those upper levels4 ,crabs undergo curious changes in the course of their growth from infancy to adult age4 ,at certain stages they are so utterly unlike in appearance to what they become later1 that for a long while they were classed by naturalists under separate names1 being actually reckoned as different creatures4 ,since the protecting armour of a crab is far too rigid to admit of its stretching1 it becomes from time to time too tight for the growing body within4 ,when it can no longer be endured1 it has to be cast off1 and a new suit1 larger in size1 has to form in its place4 ,this armour1 like the shells of foraminifers1 and the skeletons of coral-polyps1 is unconsciously secreted by the crab2 and during the formation of a new suit of armour the crab has a time of weakness1 of delicate health1 and also of dangerous exposure to the attacks of enemies4 ,some kinds of crabs have sunk to the miserable level of parasites1 living on the exertions of others1 and refusing to exert themselves4 ,one prefers to think of the active and independent and intelligent kinds2 and really1 crabs have a good deal of intelligence4 ,quite as much as an average insect2 though perhaps few of them could compete in an examination with ants or bees4 ,if any might do so successfully1 it would be in all probability some member of the ,spider-crab family4 ,to this slender-limbed untidy class belongs the unwieldy ,giant-crab of ,japan4 ,but it is his smaller relatives who excel in sense4 ,the spider-crab has a slovenly appearance1 because he attaches to himself stray bits of sea-weed and scraps of sponge or other growths1 with the plain intention of becoming less easily seen4 ,he keeps to no regular or permanent style of adornment4 ,the nature of his trimmings depends entirely on the character of his surroundings4 ,many years ago my father had been for a short dredging excursion1 near ,worthing2 and he brought home with him one of these small creatures1 elaborately ornamented with slim strips of bright-red sea-weed4 ,he placed the crab in a basin of water1 which contained a supply of green sea-weed4 ,and next morning a change was seen4 ,the crab had cast aside his red ribbons1 and had decked himself out with a smart array of green ribbons instead4 ,such conduct may1 if we choose1 be accounted for by the magic word 8instinct20 but it certainly wears the aspect of deliberate intention1 and even of some dim consciousness of cause and effect1 not to speak of a knowledge of colour4 ,this habit of the spider-crab is now well known and recognised2 and he has been closely watched during the 8dressing0 process4 ,it has been noted that he always puts each slip of sea-weed or scrap of sponge1 or aught else that he uses for the purpose1 to his mouth1 before fastening it to his body or limbs4 ,a suggestion has been made that his object in so doing is to lick it and render it sticky4 ,perhaps in some cases it could not otherwise be attached2 but many of the spider-crabs have hooked hairs1 exactly adapted for holding fast such objects as they love to adorn themselves with4 ,nor are the adornments always merely stuck on4 ,both sea-weeds and sponges frequently take root1 and flourish as healthy growths upon the crab's back4 ,it is an extraordinary fact that the crabs seem to know perfectly well from which kinds of sea-weed or zoophyte they may snip off little bits1 with a prospect of not killing them4 ,so unerring1 indeed1 is their knowledge in this respect1 that1 as an authority on the subject has stated1 8the keepers of ,aquaria have only to consult the crabs to learn what kinds of sea-animals will bear being thus transplanted piecemeal40#i #i ,crustacea1 by ,,stebbing4 ,is this too merely 8instinct08 ,many a time baits were lowered in the nets of the ,challenger to attract victims4 ,oddly enough1 it was found that no more effective bait could be used for crabs and their kindred than--pieces of looking-glass6 ,may one imagine that some friendly ,medusa lent her little glimmer1 far below1 to enable the ,hermit-crabs1 when putting on fresh ribbons1 to see their reflections1 and judge of the effect8 ,it reads rather like a page of ,alice in ,wonderland4 ,hermit-crabs or ,soldier-crabs1 having an insufficient protective armour of their own1 are in the habit of using empty ,mollusc shells to shelter that part of their bodies which is not guarded4 ,one of these crabs1 when young1 chooses a shell1 fitted to its size2 and when grown too large for it1 that shell is discarded in favour of a new one4 ,but whether the said crab commonly contents himself with an empty habitation1 the occupant of which has died earlier1 or whether he first kills and eats the live ,mollusc1 and then 8commandeers0 the shell1 does not seem to be known with certainty4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,world ,,of ,,fishes 8,he giveth food to all flesh40--,ps4 cxxxvi4 8,which giveth food to the hungry40--,ps4 cxlvi4 #g4 ,a world abundantly peopled4 ,a world which holds its myriads1 uncountable in kinds1 beyond reckoning in numbers4 ,no part of the wide ,ocean may be found where fishes are not1 and in places1 at seasons1 the water positively teems with them1 so that they may be said almost to hustle one another for want of space4 ,fishes1 taken by themselves1 letting alone jelly-inhabitants and shell-inhabitants and crab-inhabitants1 would suffice to keep the whole sea alive4 ,no picture of the ,great ,deep would be1 even in the humblest sense1 complete without some little description of the world of ,fish-life contained therein4 ,but the subject is one of hopeless magnitude to be dealt with in a couple of short chapters4 ,a mere list of the names and chief characteristics of the principal 8,orders0 of ,fishes1 putting on one side the immense array of 8sub-orders0 and 8varieties10 would speedily outrun the limits of these pages4 ,besides1 such a list would be to the ordinary reader unreadable4 ,natural ,history savants have not troubled themselves to curtail syllables in titles so used4 ,on land we have beasts and birds1 which serve as food for man2 beasts and birds of prey2 beasts and birds that are simply harmless1 attractive1 pretty1 or interesting4 ,in the ,ocean also we find fishes good for food2 fishes of prey2 fishes which may be classed as merely pretty1 or curious1 or remarkable4 ,this rough classification will do well enough for our present purpose4 ,many fishes belong of course to more than one of the divisions4 ,that which is good for food may be also curious4 ,that which acts as an ocean 8beast of prey0 may be also beautiful4 ,the speed with which fishes can dart along is often very great4 ,both fins and tails are used as a means of advance2 and the smooth scale-clothed skin glides with the least possible friction through the water4 ,no better form than the 8boat-shaped0 outline could be devised for rapid progress in a heavy element4 ,not only are fishes light in make1 often weighing hardly more than the water which upholds them2 but also1 unlike most backboned animals1 they are cold-blooded4 ,a few deep-sea kinds have no eyes1 though commonly they can see and hear and smell well4 ,in the sense of feeling they are believed to be very deficient1 and it is doubtful whether they suffer any pain at all1 in the true sense of the word4 ,probably they can be conscious of discomfort4 ,one of their unfailing characteristics is the possession of a stupendous appetite1 and with it of a superlatively good digestion4 ,they live to eat2 and they are at it incessantly4 ,perhaps in their case it does not always mean greediness1 but only a due satisfying of ,nature's needs4 ,certainly1 as a race1 they are not troubled with daintiness2 and if they love variety of fare1 they can have the same with ease4 ,pretty much whatever comes in their path is gulped down without hesitation--8gobbled up in the twink of an eye40 ,most of them1 in cannibalistic style1 feed without compunction upon other fishes4 ,while they may be popularly said to 8breathe water10 because they take in water instead of air1 they depend upon life-sustaining oxygen every whit as much as do land animals1 only in a different mode4 ,large quantities of oxygen are ever present1 dissolved1 in the sea4 ,it is not the water flowing through the fish's gills1 but the oxygen dissolved in that water1 which carries on combustion in the body1 and so keeps it in life and health4 ,the amount of oxygen thus obtained is small2 therefore the combustion is slow2 therefore the blood is cold4 ,but if1 for a very short time1 all oxygen could be withdrawn from the ocean1 the whole multitude of fishes therein would fast die of suffocation4 ,sea-water alone1 without oxygen1 could not keep them alive4 ,the gills are1 however1 so constructed that1 while they can use small supplies of oxygen dissolved in water1 they cannot use large supplies of oxygen forming part of the free air4 ,so when a fish out of water draws in atmospheric air1 its gills become dry and useless1 and it dies of suffocation4 ,a world of rapid living and dying is this which we have now in view--of killing and being killed--of an incessant struggle for existence4 ,many of its inhabitants have no means of defence1 save by flight2 and these feed only on beings weaker than themselves2 largely on the vast hordes of the young of crabs and jelly-fishes4 ,others are furnished with formidable weapons1 wherewith they can actively attack powerful foes4 ,cold-blooded though they be1 and probably without the sense of physical pain1 they yet have their little range of emotions4 ,according to one thoughtful and competent observer1#aj they can be frightened1 they can be angry1 they can endure pangs of jealousy1 they can be excited by a spirit of curiosity4 ,and though one may perhaps hardly go so far as to speak of 8fishy0 affection1 shown by one to another1 yet some faint reflection of maternal anxiety seems occasionally to exist4 #aj ,,romanes4 ,they also display a real enjoyment of life1 a pleasure in 8being10 a delight in playing with water and wave1 and even a sportiveness1 such as one might imagine to belong only to creatures of a higher grade4 ,on the whole1 the brain of a fish is better developed than the brains of any other animals of low rank1 excepting only that of the ,cuttlefish4 ,some instances have been known of tame fishes recognising1 or seeming to recognise1 human beings4 ,it is open to doubt how far the 8recognition0 meant more than an expectation of something to eat1 following upon certain familiar sounds4 ,fishes good for food--these are and have been through ages by far the most important to man4 ,other kinds may be dangerous or interesting4 ,but without the 8,food-fishes0 of the ,ocean the difficulties of feeding mankind would be largely increased4 ,for they are always there4 ,they come without exertion on our part4 ,no sowing1 no digging1 no tending of the waters1 is needed to bring forth the mighty harvest4 ,year after year1 multitudes past imagination come into existence1 and any number of them may be had for the trouble of taking4 ,all that man did in the past was his level best1 by reckless destruction1 to kill the goose which lays the golden eggs1 to exterminate the creatures which are to him of so incalculable a value4 ,of late years some steps have been taken in the other direction1 some efforts have been made towards the preservation of fish and the culture of spawn4 ,but much more remains to be done4 ,the incessant use of line and net and trawl through centuries has thinned the multitudes of some species very greatly1 and in the course of time they may even cease to exist4 ,that the harm done thus far has not been far greater must be ascribed to the enormous numbers of each kind1 and to the vastness of those ocean-regions1 where they may at any time retreat beyond man's reach4 ,for this we have to be thankful4 ,it would be an ill day for us1 on which the chief food-fishes should fail4 ,herrings1 for example4 ,what would the poorer throngs of our large cities do1 without that useful little cheap dish8 ,the amount of herrings caught yearly around ,british shores almost exceeds belief4 ,they appear often in mighty shoals1 swimming closely packed throughout a mile or more1 being devoured as they swim1 to the tune of millions1 and being captured by fishermen in masses4 ,yet year by year the supply goes on1 apparently undiminished4 ,one fisherman alone1 at work near the ,french coast1 reckoned that in the course of a single night he had taken over five hundred thousand herrings1 half which he threw back into the sea4 ,an unusual amount1 of course4 ,but what must be the sum-total captured in a year by the combined efforts of all fishermen8 ,in a year1 however1 a herring produces somewhere about thirty thousand eggs4 ,what1 then1 must be the sum-total of eggs produced by all herrings in the ocean8 ,true1 vast numbers of the eggs come to nothing2 vast numbers serve as food for other creatures4 ,yet enormous supplies escape countless dangers1 and succeed4 ,thus the poor man's food is bountifully given1 in an ever-recurring harvest4 ,among 8,food-fishes0 the 8,white0 kinds are prominent1 belonging mainly to two large families4 ,one of these families includes ,cod1 ,whiting1 and ,haddock4 ,the other consists of ,flat ,fishes1 such as ,turbot1 ,halibut1 ,sole1 ,dab1 ,plaice4 ,at the head of the first family stands the ,cod1 that most useful and abundant creature1 found throughout the deeper waters of northern seas4 ,during particular seasons the multitudes of cod are accompanied by multitudes of cuttlefishes--rather singularly1 since cuttlefish are the favourite food of cod4 ,but perhaps it would be more correct to say that the cuttlefish are accompanied by the cod--the latter doubtless going where they can find the food that they like4 ,at these seasons millions of cuttlefish are caught1 to be used as bait1 by means of which enormous supplies of cod are taken for the market4 ,a calculation has been made that1 in the course of a single spring1 on the banks not far from ,newfoundland1 something like one hundred and twenty millions of cod are the result of combined ,british and ,american and ,french exertions4 ,happily1 this fish also is very prolific4 ,an individual often produces three or four millions of eggs in a season2 and as many as eight millions have been found on one fish4 ,here1 again1 immense numbers of the eggs fail to develop1 immense numbers are devoured4 ,yet multitudes come to perfection1 and the ocean is still furnished with cod4 ,there is1 however1 a very serious danger1 beginning to be recognised1 in the case of cod and yet more of some other 8white-fish0 kinds2 and this is that in time the reckless havoc worked may outrun even these wonderful sources of renewal4 ,fishing has been carried on in the past1 without thought for the future4 ,little or no attention has been paid to sparing the young2 and the valuable roe itself has been used as an article of food4 ,man may by-and-by have to pay dearly for his lack of foresight and common-sense4 ,as an illustration of the numbers of fishes in the sea1 a curious tale is told about a deep-water kind of ,mullet1 known as the ,tile-fish4 ,this particular species had not been discovered before the year #ahgi4 ,a few specimens were then taken from over a bank about eighty miles from the coast of ,massachusetts--large and brightly coloured4 ,near that bank1 where they had made their home1 they could at any time be easily caught4 ,but in the spring of #ahhb a heavy gale took place2 after which these fishes were seen in enormous quantities1 floating at the surface of the water1 covering a space of three hundred miles in length and fifty in breadth4 ,one who saw the singular sight reckoned that something like fourteen hundred millions of them must have been there--enough to have supplied every man and woman and child in the ,united ,states with between two and three hundred pounds' weight of fish4 ,in the following autumn1 when fishermen went again to the bank for tile-fish1 they found none4 ,not a single specimen turned up4 ,the storm1 probably by shifting the direction of the ,gulf-stream and its 8cold wall10 had either destroyed them all1 or had slain so many as to frighten the survivors to a distance4 ,in that particular district they had not1 when the story was written1 been seen again4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,some ,,oddities ,,of ,,fish-,,life 8#c ,,fish4 ,master1 ,i marvel how the fishes live in the sea4 #a ,,fish4 ,why1 as men do a-land2 the great ones eat up the little ones40 ,,pericles4 ,of fishes which are remarkable for beauty names might be mentioned by the hundred2 alike of food-fishes1 of powerful and fierce-tempered kinds1 and of those which may be described as purely ornamental4 ,not all are graceful in shape2 but vast numbers are exquisite in colouring1 especially when first drawn from the water4 ,as they gasp out their lives1 the brilliant tinting fades4 ,among harmless and lovely kinds1 perhaps not many could vie with the small radiant creatures of ,coral-reefs1 described by many a traveller in terms which tell of a lack of sufficient variety in adjectives4 ,but words in these cases convey a dim impression of the reality4 ,fish-beauty must be seen1 and seen at its best1 to be appreciated4 ,among curiosities of ,fish-existence1 too many to name1 a few may be cited in passing4 ,flying-fishes1 with their blue bodies and wing-like fins of silver1 are well known to voyagers4 ,they rise from the water with a vigorous upward spring1 which will bear them to a height of fifteen feet or more above the surface2 and there they skim lightly along1 with apparently thorough enjoyment4 ,sometimes thousands are seen at once1 all leaping out of their native element1 and taking to the air for a variety4 ,often they do this to escape from a pursuing foe below2 but the plan is not always successful1 since they have other enemies above4 ,many a flying-fish in its aerial career is snapped up by a hungry gull4 ,one uncouth specimen is the 8,frog-fish10 known also as the 8,fishing-frog0 or 8,goose-fish10--a flat thick rounded creature1 with a cocked-up tail1 an enormous mouth nearly as wide as its whole body1 and knowing eyes4 ,it bears a certain resemblance to a frog4 ,many instances are related of fishes 8imitating0 or 8copying0--to use very inadequate terms--different land animals4 ,the ,bat-fish1 for example1 bears a curious likeness to a ,bat4 ,the ,snipe-fish might be mistaken for first cousin to a ,snipe4 ,there is also the ,pelican-fish1 an inhabitant of deep-water4 ,it has a mouth of portentous dimensions1 with a huge pelican-like pouch hanging loosely below4 ,little is known of its habits2 but it is supposed to swim about near the ocean-bed1 with its enormous jaws extended in a stereotyped yawn1 taking food in a vast and wholesale fashion4 ,another oddity1 known as the ,spook1 though not interesting in its ways1 has a most 8bizarre0 look4 ,its body is long and winding1 almost like that of an eel2 its fins are large2 its eyes are big2 and1 judging from its picture1 its head seems to be a cross between that of a fish and that of a quadruped4 ,among innumerable fish gormandisers one particular specimen carries off the palm1 and might win the first prize in a world-wide competition for excellence in voracity4 ,the ,black ,swallower1 most appropriately named1 manages1 at least now and then1 to accomplish the rare feat of swallowing a morsel many times larger than itself4 ,it is a fish of slender make2 but after such a meal the slenderness disappears4 ,it seizes upon a fish1 perhaps six or eight times as large as its own body1 and 8gradually climbs over it with its jaws0--a truly marvellous exploit6 ,its mouth and stomach stretch elastically during this process1 till the whole of the large fish has passed inside the little fish1 and a vast pouch hangs below1 filled with the meal just taken4 ,this bag is the distended stomach4 ,but the tale carries its own moral4 ,the greediness of the fish--and apparently it is a case of individual greediness1 though it springs from a family tendency--is punished as it deserves by death4 ,as the swallowed 8mouthful0 decomposes1 it loads the bag with gases1 like an inflated balloon2 and like a balloon the stomach acts1 bearing the unhappy victim to the sea-surface1 where it floats wrong way up4 ,a sufficiently tragic ending6 ,a stout-built animal is the ,wolf-fish1 varying in length from three to seven feet2 and in his ways a veritable 8wild beast10 powerful and savage1 with strong jaws1 teeth fashioned like those of a tiger1 a vicious temper1 and a ferocious scowl4 ,an abnormal appetite too is his1 though hardly equal to that of the ,black ,swallower4 ,in ,maine these brutes have been known to attack fiercely human beings wading in the sea at low tide4 ,sometimes the above is called also the 8,sea ,cat-fish20 but true ,cat-fishes belong to quite another family2 and they can hardly be described as more desirable acquaintances4 ,with their solemn ,grimalkin-like expression1 their love of fighting1 their sharp serrated spines1 with which they can give most painful wounds1 the ,cat of the ,ocean is not likely to be transformed into a domestic pet1 for at least some time to come4 ,these two last quarrelsome creatures may lead us from 8interesting0 specimens of ,fish-life to those which have been roughly classed above as 8,fishes of ,prey40 ,prominent among the latter stands the dreaded ,shark4 ,in common parlance we speak of a shark as a fish4 ,yet scientifically the description is incorrect4 ,sharks and ,skates are now looked upon as apart from ,fishes proper1 being described rather as 8,fish-like ,vertebrates10--not true fishes4 ,one very marked difference is found in the numbers of their young4 ,with true fishes1 as already shown1 eggs are produced in enormous quantities4 ,but with sharks and skates1 only one or two or at most a very few young ones are brought into existence at a time1 as with higher animals4 ,if among wild beasts of the ,ocean cuttlefishes represent tigers1 then perhaps we may say that sharks represent lions or panthers4 ,but the reputed nobility of the lion is never found in sharks4 ,fearsome creatures they are2 often huge in size1 long-shaped1 flat-tailed1 with cavernous mouths1 cruel teeth1 immense strength1 and bloodthirsty dispositions4 ,cannibals too1 since they feed largely on lesser fishes4 ,to the bigger kinds a human being is merely a tasty morsel1 which may be disposed of in two snaps and a couple of gulps4 ,though exclusively inhabitants of the salt sea1 they sometimes chase their prey into a river1 putting up with fresh water for the nonce4 ,sharks are found nearly all over the world1 but much more abundantly in hot climates4 ,their numbers gradually diminish1 farther and farther from the equator4 ,in tropical waters they are often present in overwhelming multitudes2 and a man who should venture to bathe in such parts1 would be as a scrap of bread flung to a horde of hungry little fishes4 ,in less than a minute nothing of him would remain4 ,off ,kurrachee1 where the catching of them is systematically carried on1 about forty thousand are slain every year4 ,this is for the sake of their fins1 from which gelatine is obtained for the ,chinese4 ,that so many are killed1 as a regular thing1 says much with respect to the vast hordes which are not killed4 ,of small shallow-water sharks1 the most widely known are varieties of ,dog-fishes4 ,though not large enough to be a terror to man1 they are an endless trouble to fishermen1 destroying great numbers of captured fish in the nets1 and biting off the hooks from fishing-lines4 ,among larger species1 one kind found in the ,north ,atlantic is the huge mild-mannered ,basking ,shark1 which at times lies long and lazily close to the surface of the water1 in company with a school of comrades4 ,its teeth are unimportant1 and it feeds on smaller creatures1 not attempting to include man among its eatables4 ,but since it often has a length of thirty feet1 and1 like most sluggish natures1 is capable of being roused1 it becomes dangerous when excited4 ,a blow of its tail may easily smash in the side of a whaling boat4 ,the largest of these creatures is the vast ,whale-shark1 belonging to the ,indo-,pacific ,seas1 sometimes over fifty feet in length1 and stated even to reach seventy feet4 ,however1 if accounts be correct1 this giant is much less of an enemy to the whale than the ,greenland ,shark4 ,in the fashion of some savage nations1 the latter feeds deliberately upon the live whale1 biting raw steaks at pleasure from the worried leviathan--8scooping and gorging lump after lump10 so long as it feels 8dispoged40 ,the ,greenland ,shark is credited with feeling no pain1 and it is extremely difficult to kill1 as the unfortunate whale attacked by it finds to his cost4 ,worse than all1 so far as human beings are concerned1 are the famous ,man-eating ,sharks of tropical waters1 which occasionally1 but not very often1 find their way to colder latitudes4 ,among them1 the ,great ,blue ,shark1 from fifteen to twenty-five feet long1 and the awful ,white ,shark1 known sometimes to reach a length of thirty-seven feet1 have an undesirable pre-eminence4 ,these monsters are furnished with teeth1 the reverse of 8unimportant40 ,in shape they are generally triangular1 serrated1 and sharply pointed4 ,in arrangement they occupy rows1 the foremost only of which is in actual use4 ,other rows are folded back and kept in reserve1 to be brought forward when required4 ,thus a shark is never without a ready supply of his formidable weapons4 ,white sharks are much given to keeping in the wake of ocean-ships1 on the look-out for scraps thrown overboard4 ,one such persistent follower having been killed1 an inventory was made of the contents of its stomach1 as follows--8,a tin can1 a number of mutton bones1 the hinder quarters of a pig1 the head and forequarters of a bull-dog1 and other and smaller things1 as the auction-bill says1 too numerous to mention40#aa #aa ,standard ,natural ,history1 ii4 p4 #hc4 ,closely related to the ,sharks are those savage creatures known as ,rays or ,skates4 ,the larger number of them live usually at the bottom of the sea1 in somewhat shallow waters1 lying on the ocean-floor1 or swimming about just above it4 ,thus they do not so often come into contact with man as do sharks4 ,but it is want of opportunity1 not want of will1 which keeps them from doing harm4 ,when they have a chance they seldom fail to use it4 ,among different branches of the 8,ray0 division is found the tropical ,saw-fish1 with its long sharp teeth-laden snout1 ever ready to fight the whale4 ,in youth the saw-fish has a strong resemblance to a shark4 ,then there are the ,sting-rays1 with barbed spines1 a mere touch from which causes a man terrible suffering1 as if from poison2 while a severe sting may end in death4 ,these are found in ,south ,america4 ,there is also the family of ,torpedo ,rays1 quite distinct from the better-known ,south ,american ,electric ,eel1 but able to administer electric shocks strong enough to render a man for the time helpless4 ,they are found in many waters--large creatures1 rounded in shape1 smooth-bodied1 thick1 with longish tails4 ,worst of all are the huge ungainly ,eagle-,rays and ,sea-devils1 with their powerful grinding teeth4 ,these grow to an enormous size2 and the larger ones are quite capable of upsetting a big boat4 ,nor would they hesitate so to do1 if attacked4 ,one such creature was said to be fifteen feet in breadth1 with a tail several feet long2 another to have been twenty feet in length2 another to have been three or four feet in thickness2 another to have weighed well over twelve hundred pounds2 another to have needed fourteen oxen to drag its dead body4 ,they sometimes share with ,cuttlefish the distinction of being called 8,devil-fishes40 ,these monstrosities are found off ,barbadoes1 off ,jamaica1 and in the tropical waters of the ,atlantic and ,pacific4 ,a particularly vicious kind hovers about the ,pearl ,fisheries near ,panama1 to the terror of the divers4 ,the creature is reported to fold its vast 8wings0 about any unfortunate man within reach1 and then to devour him4 ,this answers to the usual method of ground-rays in feeding4 ,they glide over the object they wish to devour1 settle down upon it1 hold it fast by the grip of a broad and heavy body1 and deliberately tear it to pieces4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,behemoths ,,of ,,the ,,ocean 8,there is that leviathan1 whom ,thou hast formed to take his pastime therein40--,ps4 civ4 #bf1 ,r4,v4 8,canst thou draw out ,leviathan with a fish hook8 ,or press down his tongue with a cord8 ,canst thou put a rope into his nose8 ,or pierce his jaw through with a hook80--,,job xli4 #a1 ,r4,v4 ,from the company of hungry merciless ,sharks and their relatives1 an easy transition carries us to the largest of ,ocean-inhabitants--the ,whale4 ,not that sharks and whales belong to the same division in the ,animal ,kingdom4 ,not that they have aught in common beyond the possession of great size and power4 ,but because of that size and power1 they naturally come together at the close of a sketch of ,ocean ,life4 ,sharks1 if not in every respect to be regarded as fully and entirely ,fishes1 are yet in most essentials 8fish-like40 ,but ,whales belong to a higher level4 ,when we reach ,whales we leave lower animals behind us2 we step upon the uppermost rungs of the ,ladder of ,life2 we are in the society of ,mammals4 ,at the bottom of that ladder we found microscopic beings1 specks of living jelly1 so minute as to be invisible1 so primitive as to be without development1 without separate organs4 ,at the top of that ladder stands ,man2 far more than animal1 by virtue of his mental and spiritual being2 and yet an animal1 by virtue of his bodily development4 ,the physical part of a man marks him as a ,mammal4 ,to ,mammals belong all ,quadrupeds2 but not ,birds1 not ,reptiles1 not ,fishes4 ,a whale is not a fish4 ,he is a ,mammal4 ,he is warm-blooded4 ,he breathes air through lungs4 ,he--or rather1 she--feeds the young of the race1 as they are fed by quadrupeds and human beings on land4 ,a whale-mother will fight to the death in defence of her little one4 ,nor is the whale the only ,mammal of ocean-waters4 ,to this highest division of backboned creatures belong also the ,porpoise1 a near relative of the ,whale2 and the fierce ,walrus1 met often by ,arctic travellers2 and the gentle ,seal1 with its pathetic human eyes1 and its warm soft coat1 for the sake of which it suffers too frequently cruel treatment at the hand of man4 ,many different kinds of whales inhabit the sea1--such as the ,rorqual1 the ,hump-backed1 the ,ziphoid4 ,the two which are most widely known1 and which may be regarded as foremost though unconscious rivals in human favour1 are--the ,right ,whale1 of higher latitudes1 and the ,sperm ,whale of tropical regions4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,blue ,,whale ,face page #bed ,there is a ,right ,whale of ,atlantic waters1 closely related to the ,right or ,greenland ,whale of ,arctic ,seas1 though in some respects different4 ,but the ,greenland ,whale may be taken as the typical specimen of its race4 ,and a mighty creature it is2 often fifty feet1 and sometimes sixty or seventy1 in length4 ,a ribbon passed belt-wise around that massive form1 at its thickest1 would need to be something like forty feet in length4 ,so the ,right ,whale does not boast a slim waist4 ,the enormous head1 with its capacious cavern of a mouth1 takes up about one-third of the whole body4 ,an individual of this size weighs some seventy tons4 ,and yet so light is its make--partly due to the construction of its bones1 partly no doubt to its great lung capacity--that it actually weighs less than water1 and can with the utmost ease float close to the surface4 ,indeed1 a ,greenland whale seldom by choice wanders very far below4 ,he much prefers to come up and breathe every ten or fifteen minutes2 though1 when fleeing from the deadly harpoon1 he has been known to stay under water at a stretch more than three-quarters of an hour4 ,but this is exceptional4 ,at the top of the head are a couple of 8blow-holes10 through which1 when he rises to the surface1 he breathes4 ,in colouring he is black above1 white below4 ,a skin about one inch thick covers enormous masses of fat1 more than a foot in thickness2 a fine warm blanket to guard him from cold1 but also1 unfortunately for the whale1 an attraction to human beings1 for the sake of the oil which it yields4 ,the outer skin is often thickly overgrown with masses of barnacles4 ,perhaps the most singular thing about this great creature is that it has no teeth1 and that it feeds in consequence upon the lightest possible fare4 ,in place of teeth1 inside the mouth are massive fringes of whalebone plates1 side by side1 smooth on the outer side towards the lips1 but covered within by long dense supplies of hair4 ,similar horny plates depend from the roof of the mouth4 ,since the plates of this 8baleen10 as it is called1 are often ten or twelve feet long1 and amount in number to many hundreds1 one cannot but imagine that the whale's mouth must be packed unpleasantly full of furniture4 ,but they have their use4 ,as he swims he holds his mouth habitually open--somewhat after the fashion of the ,pelican-fish--and into the vast cave flow multitudes of small creatures of every kind and description4 ,presently a good supply has been collected1 all lying on the enormous tongue1 a mass of flesh often as big as a room1 some eighteen feet long by ten wide4 ,he then nearly closes his jaws1 and forces out the water4 ,but the dense hairy fringes hold back the living creatures1 which he proceeds to swallow4 ,after which he again goes forward1 open-mouthed1 as before4 ,in a good many respects the ,sperm ,whale is a contrast to the ,greenland ,whale4 ,he too is of leviathan-like dimensions2 generally from sixty to seventy feet in length1 and not more slender as to his waist4 ,but only the male ,sperm boasts these proportions4 ,the female is1 by comparison1 a dainty little being1 seldom more than thirty or thirty-five feet long4 ,a ,sperm has one spout-hole1 instead of two2 and in colour he is black above1 grey below4 ,in his outlines a marked difference is visible4 ,looked upon sideways1 the form of the huge square head is precisely like the trunk of an immense forest tree1 cut off short2 and the 8blow-hole0 is situated close to the end or front of this 8truncated0 head4 ,the latter is really a reservoir1 containing a large supply of valuable spermaceti oil1 for the sake of which the creature is killed by man4 ,instead of a mouth full of hair-fringed 8baleen10 these whales have proper teeth1 better suited1 one would think1 to their size4 ,their food too is of a far more substantial kind4 ,it was told in an earlier chapter how ,sperm ,whales live mainly on cuttlefishes2 and how sometimes1 in midnight combat1 they fight and conquer even the mightiest of those loathsome monsters of the deep4 ,sperms are found through wide ranges of the ocean1 in most tropical waters1 as far north and as far south as #fj in each direction from the equator4 ,but whereas ,right ,whales of colder seas prefer to hunt in couples only1 ,sperm ,whales crowd together in large companies4 ,sometimes1 it is true1 lonely specimens are found4 ,they1 however1 are usually morose and ill-conditioned brutes1 ready to fight even men4 ,it has been suggested that perhaps they are thus solitary because of their morose temperament1 which has made it impossible for their fellows to put up with their presence4 ,both these huge whales have powerful fluked tails and small flippers4 ,it is curious that inside the flippers are separate branching bones1 not unlike the bones of a human hand1 only covered with thick skin in one piece1 like a fingerless glove4 ,this rather seems to indicate that the flippers may be of the nature of hands in embryo4 ,the ,sperm does not come to the surface for air nearly so often as his ,greenland cousin4 ,regularly once in each hour and ten minutes is the plan he follows2 and then he remains for several minutes at the surface1 going through a series of sixty or seventy mighty puffings and blowings4 ,after which he vanishes for another hour and ten minutes4 ,some pathetic tales have been told of the devotion of a mother-whale to her infant--she usually has but one at a time4 ,early in the present century a harpooner deliberately sent his harpoon into an infant-whale1 hoping thus to take the mother4 ,and he had not miscalculated the strength of maternal love4 ,no thought had that poor mother of saving herself by flight4 ,she came fearlessly close to the boat1 seized her wounded little one1 and dragged it away with extraordinary rapidity1 using up six hundred feet of line4 ,then she rose again1 dashing to and fro in such evident 8extreme agony0 that one can only marvel at the men who were able to watch it unmoved4 ,two harpoons were flung at her1 and failed to strike4 ,a third succeeded2 but still1 absorbed in her little one's peril1 she paid no heed to her own injury1 made no effort to get away1 and 8in the course of an hour0 she was killed4 ,that was in #ahaa4 ,the same deed has been lately described by ,mr4 ,bullen--the slaying of a mother-whale1 which1 with her infant by her side1 refused to use her great strength in self-defence1 lest she might hurt that little one4 ,such love as this should surely be respected1 even by rough fishermen4 ,if not in pity to the whale1 another reason would suggest the same line of conduct4 ,the folly of recklessly slaying the rising generation is beginning to be apparent4 ,already the supply of whales threatens to run short4 ,although one may speak of 8little ones10 and although they are genuinely 8little10 compared with grown-up specimens1 one must not be led astray by the term4 ,one very young baby-whale1 when measured1 was found to be about twenty feet long4 ,a fine strapping infant6 ,,chapter ,,xxv4 8,,down ,,to ,,the ,,sea ,,in ,,ships0 8,with ,ships the ,sea was sprinkled far and wide40--,,wordsworth4 8,fair is our lot--,o goodly is our heritage6 7,humble ye1 my people1 and be fearful in your mirth67 ,for the ,lord our ,god ,most ,high1 ,he hath made the ,deep as dry1 ,he hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the ,earth40 ,,rudyard ,,kipling4 ,with ,whales we have reached the highest class among ,ocean creatures4 ,yet it is impossible to end here4 ,some few pages must be given to those among men who 8go down to the ,sea in ships10 who 8do business in great waters40 ,not that in any sense can ,man be reckoned as an inhabitant of the 8,mighty ,deep40 ,but thousands of men spend the greater part of their lives upon the ,deep2 tens of thousands more continually pass and repass over its surface4 ,in the beginning of history ships became soon a necessity1 partly as a means of going from place to place along the coasts or of travelling to other ,continents and ,islands1 and partly for the purpose of catching fish4 ,those early vessels were crude and ramshackle affairs1 from a modern point of view4 ,unclothed and woad-stained ,britons1 ancestors to the ,welsh of our day1 had their boats1 wood-ribbed and skin-covered1 or osier-framed and hide-clothed4 ,rickety constructions at the best4 ,yet in them half-savage sailors went over the stormy ,channels1 to ,ireland and to ,france1 and even ventured into the ,bay of ,biscay4 ,enterprising ,romans1 with better ships1 did more2 and before the close of the ,first ,century they had made their way round ,great ,britain4 ,no light feat this1 in days when lighthouses and buoys existed not2 when the geography of sand-banks and rocks was unknown4 ,the boats in which our ,saxon and ,viking ancestors came to invade the wild little ,island of ,britain1 though of light structure1 were superior to the primitive ,british skiffs2 and in the contest which followed they had the upper hand4 ,later on the ,danes1 with vessels sixty or seventy feet long1 built of heavy timbers and rowed by thirty men apiece1 proved in their turn too much for ,saxon resistance1 at a time when the ,saxons had become established as the people of the ,island4 ,king ,alfred1 of noble memory1 coming to the throne1 found his country a prey to these marauding ,danes4 ,he then and there grasped the principle1 which still has sway in ,england's counsels1 that the very existence of ,britain as a ,nation rests upon the strength of her ,navy4 ,with all possible despatch he had a new fleet built1 composed of vessels which were for the most part double the size of the largest ,danish boats4 ,they were longer1 wider1 stouter1 and were rowed each by from forty to sixty men4 ,the first ,naval battle which followed may be looked upon as a foreshadowing of ,trafalgar2 for the ,english boats gained a complete victory over those of the enemy1 and thereby ,england obtained command of the sea4 ,in those times no clear distinction existed between war-ships and merchant-ships4 ,all were prepared to defend themselves when need arose2 and any might be used1 either to carry fighting-men1 or to convey merchandise4 ,not until the reign of ,edward ,i4 did a difference grow up1 separating those vessels which as a rule kept to more peaceful occupations1 merely fighting in self-defence when attacked1--and those vessels which devoted themselves to aggressive warfare4 ,from that date1 gradually1 the ,royal ,navy grew into being4 ,even in the time of ,queen ,elizabeth the separating line was not very marked4 ,there was a ,royal ,navy1 which took its share in repelling the ,spanish invasion2 and the whole of that ,navy in tonnage was far from equalling one huge ship of modern days1 the ,celtic1 ,white ,star ,liner4 ,of the hundred and ninety-seven vessels1 however1 which met the vast array of the ,armada1 only thirty-four were in any sense strictly ,men-of-,war2 and of those thirty-four one alone was over a thousand tons in weight4 ,the remaining hundred and sixty-three were ,merchant-ships1 fitted up as best they might be for warlike purposes2 most of them being under four hundred tons4 ,but no mistake existed about the way in which these pigmies set to work1 like bulldogs1 to worry the great ,spanish ships4 ,century after century the ,navy grew1 adding in each generation to its size and strength4 ,english sailors found their way hither and thither1 in the interests of their country1 for war1 for exploration1 for purposes of trade1 discovering unknown lands1 penetrating towards the ,north ,pole1 mapping out the ,ocean4 ,other ,nations took their part in these explorations1 and the honour of finding a ,new ,world did not rest with our ancestors4 ,but in more recent days the ,lion's share of research has undoubtedly fallen to the ,british2 and the coast-lines of the world have been surveyed and mapped out chiefly by ships of the ,british ,royal ,navy4 ,up to the beginning of the ,nineteenth ,century1 all vessels1 small or large1 moved by means of the wind or by oars4 ,then began a change of immense importance1 due to the use of steam for carrying ships across the sea1 not only with but in the teeth of the wind4 ,this method took hold and prevailed1 though at first very slowly4 ,even in the present day hosts of merchant-ships still travel by means of sails only1 making systematic use of the ,trades and other steadfast winds4 ,when time is not a prime consideration1 sailing is of course far cheaper than steaming4 ,on the other hand1 the carrying power of a steamer is about three times that of a sailing-vessel of the same size1 since it can generally perform three journeys in the same time that a sailing-vessel can manage one4 ,all over the world1 in every sea1 are thousands upon thousands of ships of every kind and description1 night and day speeding onward1 each to its destined port4 ,lines of ,passenger-ships regularly plough the main1 starting on fixed days1 and seldom failing to arrive on fixed days4 ,merchant ships innumerable follow certain routes1 going from country to country over the ,ocean1 carrying the world's produce4 ,mighty ,navies of war-vessels1 huge in bulk and terrible in possibilities1 rest like sleeping leviathans upon the bosom of the deep1 or steam from point to point with resistless energy4 ,all this denotes a wonderful change since the days1 when a few roughly-made boats used to creep round the coasts of a few inhabited countries4 ,wide though the ocean be1 with thousands of miles of water unbroken save by occasional islands1 the number of ships now always at sea is so great1 that the perils of collisions are much increased4 ,but this1 of course1 is chiefly in the more frequented routes1 not in ,ocean's lonelier wastes4 ,definite rules are laid down for the avoidance of collisions4 ,when two vessels meet1 each must steer 8to the right40 ,all ships have to carry1 after dark1 two powerful lights3 a green one on the starboard or right side2 a red one on the port or left side2 and in the case of steamers1 a white light also must be seen upon the mast4 ,the gradual development of ships1 in the course of centuries1 from rude skin-covered coracles to top-heavy medival vessels2 from them to the stately ,wooden ,walls of ,old ,england1--and1 lastly1 to the massive ,ironclads of the ,empire2 is full of interest4 ,by far the more rapid part of this development was witnessed in the years of the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,perhaps a slight comparison between past and present sizes of ships may be worth giving4 ,to begin with ,passenger ,vessels4 ,in #ahbi the ,cunard wooden paddle steamers1 of about two hundred tons1 perhaps from one to two hundred feet in length1 carrying sails as well as using steam1 and able to advance at the rate of eight knots an hour1 were counted good enough for the ,atlantic4 ,by about the middle of the century the same ,line had taken to screw-steamers1 built of iron1 some three hundred and forty feet in length1 of four thousand tons burden1 and able to get along at the rate of twelve knots4 ,in #ahic steel-built vessels replaced the iron-built2 the length had grown to four hundred and seventy feet2 and the speed had increased to seventeen or eighteen knots4 ,the ,celtic1 mentioned above1 launched in #aija1 of over twenty thousand tons1 is seven hundred feet in length1 and though not equal to many modern ships in speed1 can do her seventeen knots with ease4 ,the same advance was seen in another line of steamers1 plying their way to and from the ,cape4 ,before the middle of the century1 ships two hundred feet in length1 and going at the rate of seven knots an hour1 were reckoned sufficiently up to the mark4 ,now vessels five hundred feet in length1 steaming at a pace of twenty or more knots1 are in use4 ,one cannot but question how long it would have taken1 under the old rgime1 to transfer two hundred thousand soldiers from ,great ,britain to ,south ,africa4 ,under the new order of things that feat was lately accomplished in less than eight months4 ,the same steady growth is apparent in ,merchant vessels generally--in their gradual increase from small to large1 from slow to fast4 ,again1 the same development is seen in ,men-of-,war4 ,up to the year #ahfj1 twelve or thirteen knots for the best speed of a battleship was regarded as eminently satisfactory4 ,by #ahgj this had risen to nearly fifteen knots4 ,there for many years it stood still2 but since #ahhj the outside speed of battleships has arrived at nineteen knots4 ,fast ,cruisers have exceeded the ,battleships4 ,up to #ahgj they had reached nearly nineteen knots2 and since #ahhj they have risen to twenty-three knots4 ,these1 again1 have been excelled by ,torpedo ,destroyers1 which can go at the rate of twenty-six or twenty-seven knots4 ,together with increase of speed has come growth in size4 ,a modern fast ,cruiser has often from ten to fourteen thousand tons displacement2 a modern ,battleship from thirteen to fifteen thousand tons4 ,but the popular notion1 that ,men-of-,war exceed in size and weight all ,passenger and ,merchant vessels1 is a delusion4 ,it arises from a difference in the mode of measurement4 ,the 8tonnage0 of a ,man-of-,war refers to its actual and literal weight4 ,the 8tonnage0 of a merchant-ship refers to its space for goods or passengers--its 8carrying power10 in short4 ,the two can no more be fairly compared by mere figures1 than could a measurement by pounds and one by quarts4 ,many a first-class merchant or passenger ship actually weighs more and exceeds in length the largest battleship4 ,with the latter1 size and space cannot be the principal aim1 but rather strength and endurance1 with speed4 ,a vessel lately constructed may have a most important bearing on warships of the future4 ,this 8turbo-motor10 as it is called1 with a new kind of engine1 has reached the unexampled speed of thirty-four knots an hour2 and there seems to be no reason why in time it should not do much more4 ,such a success threatens to revolutionise the life of ships at sea4 ,thus far ,british ships have been mainly spoken of2 and naturally so4 ,not only because a ,british subject might be expected to put them first1 but because of their enormous preponderance in numbers and tonnage over the ships of all other ,nations4 ,american and ,german merchant-shipping has1 it is true1 of late years made huge strides2 and the last thing to be done is to underrate their diligence and energy1 or to wish them non-success4 ,yet still we1 ,children of the ,empire which dominates the ,ocean1 must desire our ,empire to hold her own1 must strive our utmost to keep ahead of all competitors in the race4 ,perhaps not everybody realises how far ahead we have been up to the present day4 ,other nations indeed have made great advance4 ,what the future may mean for them and for us1 ,time alone can show4 ,but as yet they do not seem likely to outstrip us1 unless ,great ,britain grows lazy and lies upon her oars4 ,in the year #aijj1 the ,merchant ,shipping of the whole world1 including all vessels of more than one hundred tons1 was reckoned to amount in round numbers to over ,twenty-eight ,thousand ,ships1 and in burden to over ,twenty-nine ,millions of ,tons4 ,of that vast world-fleet ,eleven ,thousand vessels were ,british4 ,and since the ,british ships were1 on an average1 larger than the foreign ships1 it meant that nearly one-half of the tonnage of the whole world's merchant shipping sailed under the ,red ,ensign4 ,to put the matter differently4 ,in #ahib another reckoning was made2 the comparison being expressed by numbers1 for the ,merchant-,navies of several ,nations4 ,it stood as follows3-- ,the ,merchant fleet of ,italy was taken as slightly over ,one4 ,then1 in proportion1 the ,french fleet was represented by something over ,two2 the ,norwegian1 by the same2 the ,united ,states1 by ,three2 the ,german1 by something over ,three2 and the ,british1 by something over ,twenty-two6 ,this included the whole tonnage or carrying power of the fleets in question1 both sailing and steam-driven vessels4 ,the figures speak for themselves4 ,or1 again1 let us take all the steam fleets of the world1 reckoning only vessels over one hundred tons1 and only those used for merchandise2 not ,men-of-,war4 ,these steam-fleets shall be pictured in our minds or on paper by broad black lines1 one-tenth of an inch wide4 ,now let us see how long such lines would have to be1 at two different dates1 for a few of the leading fleets4 ,in the year #ahhi they would have been given thus3-- ,japanese4--,less than one-tenth of an inch long4 ,american4--,three and a half tenths of an inch long4 ,french4--,four and a half tenths of an inch long4 ,german4--,six and a half tenths of an inch long4 ,and next1 after a great dividing gap-- ,british4--,fifty-one tenths of an inch1 or over five inches long4 ,once more1 the figures speak for themselves4 ,but this was a good many years ago4 ,let us have the same plan repeated for the year #ahig1 or eight years later1 noting the advance made in each case4 ,here1 again1 the tonnage of the whole steam-driven fleet of each ,nation may be represented by a black line1 one-tenth of an inch in width1 and varying in length according to the size of the particular fleet4 ,some changes have taken place in those few years4 ,the ,japanese1 instead of being quite at the end of the list1 rank above the ,spanish and the ,norwegian2 and the ,americans have outstripped the ,french4 ,the results now stand thus3-- ,japanese4--,nearly three-tenths of an inch4 ,french4--,five-tenths of an inch4 ,american4--,over five-tenths of an inch4 ,german4--,over a whole inch1 or more than ten-tenths4 ,and once more1 after another big dividing gap3-- ,british4--,about sixty-seven tenths of an inch2 or over six inches and a quarter4 ,we hear a good deal of the rapid growth of the ,german and ,american ,merchant fleets1 and not so much of the growth of our own4 ,yet certainly we have not stood still4 ,according to the above comparison1 which is taken from an ,american1 not a ,british report1#ab we have not held our own badly during recent years4 ,british transport has actually grown the most4 ,true1 we have merely added sixteen tenths to an already great length2 whereas1 in the same period1 the ,german fleet1 adding three and a half tenths1 has nearly doubled itself1 and the ,japanese1 adding about two-tenths1 has trebled itself4 ,but a very small amount is easily doubled or trebled2 and the nearest is still a long way behind the ,british total4 #ab ,merchant ,marine of ,foreign ,countries1 vol4 xviii4 ,this should not be allowed to induce a spirit of over-confidence1 which might probably mean in time the tortoises overtaking the hare4 ,and although our ,merchant fleet is still almost the double of all other ,merchant fleets upon ,earth put together1 yet the proportionate difference has begun to grow less than it once was4 ,other countries are straining every nerve in the race2 and if ,great ,britain would keep her present position1 this is no time for slackening of effort4 ,powerful though our ,royal ,navy undoubtedly is1 it has not that vast preponderance over other ,fleets of ,war which our ,merchant ,navy has over other ,mercantile ,fleets4 ,the aim generally set before ,great ,britain of late years has been to make and to keep the ,royal ,navy strong enough to be able to cope with any two other ,war ,navies existing4 ,but if we had a ,war ,navy proportioned to our ,merchant ,service1 which might seem only reasonable1 it would have to be nearly equal in tonnage to all the other fighting ,navies in all the world4 ,is our present aim high enough1 in view of the tremendous interests1 the enormous risks1 involved8 ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,an ,,empire3 ,,ocean-,,wide 8,this ,royal throne of kings2 this sceptred ,isle2 ,this earth of majesty2 this seat of ,mars2 99 99 99 99 99 ,this happy breed of men2 this little world2 ,this precious stone1 set in a silver sea40 ,king ,richard ,,ii4 8,never was isle so little1 never was sea so lone1 ,but over the scud and the palm trees an ,english flag was flown40 ,,rudyard ,,kipling4 8,see what a glorious throng they come1 ,turned to their ancient ,home1 ,the ,children of our ,england40--,,lewis ,,morris4 ,deep down under the sea1 on the sloping ocean-floor1 amid dead vegetable and animal remains1 lie strange snake-like forms4 ,not natural creations1 but made by man and placed there for his own benefit4 ,up to the year #ahdj anything in the shape of a submarine telegraph was not only non-existent1 but1 so far as is known1 it had not even been thought of4 ,some wild dreams may have been indulged in here or there2 but if so1 the dreamers kept their dreams to themselves4 ,on land the electric telegraph was getting into wider and wider use4 ,the bare idea1 however1 of so uniting lands separated by the ocean had not been brought forward4 ,between #ahdj and #ahej the notion did come up1 and was discussed4 ,a small attempt was made in ,america1 with what may be called a baby-cable1 across a slight extent of water1 near land4 ,the ,professor who made this experiment#ac ventured on a prediction that1 in days to come1 an electric cable might unite ,great ,britain and ,america4 ,his friends probably pitied him as a visionary4 #ac ,professor ,s4 ,f4 ,b4 ,,morse4 ,through that decade there was no further advance4 ,but in #ahej another step was taken4 ,the first 8open-sea0 submarine cable was laid down between ,dover and ,calais2 one of copper wire1 covered with gutta-percha1 outside which was a thick leaden tube4 ,for the moment a slender line joined ,england to the ,continent4 ,then an enterprising ,french fisherman1 in quest of conger-eels1 caught the cable in his powerful hook1 and hauled it up4 ,he took it for a stout sea-weed stem1 and tried the effect of a nibble4 ,it was not appetising1 and he flung it back into the water4 ,somewhat later1 however1 he hooked it up again2 and this time he secured his spoil1 cutting off a length1 which he carried to his native town1 as a rare ocean-curiosity4 ,naturally1 no further telegraphic messages could be exchanged between the two countries4 ,nothing daunted1 the projectors started afresh2 made another cable2 and put that down4 ,this time they met with good success2 and since #ahea ,england and ,france have talked in confidential whispers below the ,channel4 ,many more cables under the sea were laid in different places with success4 ,but all these were short ones4 ,a great scheme1 dimly foretold in #ahdb by one far-sighted ,american1 was stirring4 ,why should not the ,new ,world be united to the ,old1 even as ,great ,britain was united to the ,continent8 ,why not bind ,europe and ,america together by cables beneath the ,ocean8 ,not twenty or forty or sixty miles would this require1 but two thousand miles of cable4 ,and in any part of those two thousand miles1 one slight break1 one little flaw1 would undo the whole4 ,the plan meant thousands of pounds risked1 with perhaps no return4 ,yet it was persevered in4 ,before the close of #aheg1 that year of ,indian ,mutiny horrors1 the first attempt was made4 ,four hundred miles of cable slid safely down1 and lay upon the ocean-bed4 ,then as it ran out from the ship1 it snapped4 ,that was a failure4 ,next year another attempt was made4 ,two ships1 each bearing half of the great coil1 came together in the middle of the ,atlantic1 and 8spliced0 the ends4 ,after which they parted1 one going east1 one going west1 each laying its own share4 ,but again the cable broke4 ,enough remained on hand to supply the place of the lost length4 ,a third effort followed quickly4 ,for a while success seemed to crown perseverance4 ,the whole cable was safely down2 and messages were exchanged4 ,whispers from the ,old ,world to the ,new went under two thousand miles of ocean1 and answers came back4 ,then the wire ceased to speak4 ,in some manner1 connection was severed4 ,time passed1 and for a space no more was done4 ,but in #ahfd the ,great ,eastern started1 carrying the whole of a new and much stronger cable--more than two thousand two hundred miles long2 and of so solid a make that each mile of it weighed three thousand pounds4 ,once again disappointment lay ahead4 ,more than half the task had been accomplished1 when the cable broke anew1 the lower end as usual vanishing4 ,many days the great ship hovered round1 hunting for that lost line2 but she had to give up the quest1 and to go home4 ,a year later1 however1 the search was resumed2 and the cable1 lying quietly upon the ocean-bed more than two miles below1 was found and pulled up by powerful grapnels4 ,not yet was man beaten in his contest with the ,ocean4 ,it takes a good deal of beating to make the ,anglo-,saxon give in4 ,wind and wave1 depth and distance1 all were against him2 but he went on4 ,the plan had to be carried out4 ,he meant to see this thing through4 ,he had made up his mind to have his verbal under-sea intercourse1 between ,continent and ,continent4 ,and at last he had his way4 ,a new cable was manufactured2 and this time1 not only was it laid safely1 but it held good4 ,side by side with the new was laid also the old lost cable1 which had been fished up from the deep4 ,so a double line of connection existed between ,great ,britain and her ,daughter-land across the ,atlantic4 ,that aim fulfilled1 after so much of failure and discouragement1 other cables were put down in many other parts of the world4 ,beneath the sea in all directions they lie1 joining countries widely separated4 ,a year or two ago it was reckoned that the full extent of all submarine cables in the world had already reached a grand total of about two hundred thousand miles4 ,not much more will bring it to a length which might span the distance between ,earth and ,moon4 ,lately a splendid new scheme has come up1 and has been adopted4 ,this is--to unite the entire ,british ,empire by one vast 8,all-,british0 telegraphic system4 ,as is the nervous system to a man1 so will be the said telegraphic system to the ,empire4 ,at present many telegrams have to be sent to outlying parts through foreign dominions--which is much as though a man's brain should have to send messages to his fingers through another man's arm4 ,but when once this scheme has become a reality1 the ,mother-land will be able to convey1 under the broadest ocean-reaches1 to any of her ,children in distant parts1 her requests1 her warnings1 her sympathy1 her secrets1 her congratulations1 without fear of being heard by outsiders2 without risk of having her utterances stopped by perhaps 8unfriendly0 hands1 at some critical moment4 ,in this vast plan the chief cable will cover a distance of nearly nine thousand miles2 and that will include a single stretch from ,vancouver to ,fanning ,island1 more than half as long again as the wire between ,ireland and the ,united ,states1 or about three thousand five hundred miles4 ,no surprise need be felt at the frequent breaking of cables1 strong though they may be4 ,the great depth of water into which they have to be lowered1 their own weight1 the increased difficulties attendant upon stormy weather1 and--when once they are down--the uneven character of the ocean-bed1 have all to be reckoned with4 ,careful previous soundings are of course made1 with a view to avoiding1 if possible1 abrupt descents and precipitous breaks in the line where the cable is to be4 ,one can easily understand how1 if a cable lies taut across from one ridge to another1 it may snap with its own weight4 ,but even upon a fairly smooth bed1 other dangers exist4 ,sometimes1 deep down1 a big 8landslip0 takes place1 and a vast mass of dbris slides to a lower level4 ,if such a mass happens to descend upon a cable1 the breakage of the latter is no unlikely event4 ,a hundred years ago1 and less1 ,englishmen living and toiling in ,india reckoned themselves happy if1 when they wrote 8home10 a reply came by return of post in ten or twelve months4 ,now answers to questions can be obtained in a few weeks1 by post2 and in cases of emergency1 news of life or death1 of safe arrival or recovery from illness1 within a few hours4 ,before the close of the ,eighteenth ,century1 a ,british ,embassy was sent to ,china1 to interview the then ,emperor of that always difficult country4 ,the ,ambassador and his suite were received with elaborate politeness1 at the end of their tedious voyage4 ,china was verbally polite then1 as now4 ,but an intimation followed1 warning the visitors that1 if they wished to escape unpleasant consequences1 they had better take themselves off so soon as might be4 ,which they had to do1 since no ,army was at hand to back them up against a good many millions of yellow barbarians4 ,the story of all this reached ,england1 and was given in the ,times1 exactly one year after it happened4 ,now the contrast6 ,we know at breakfast one morning what has gone on1 the previous afternoon1 in ,china1 in ,india1 in ,australia1 in ,america1 in ,africa4 ,during the days of the ,peninsular ,war1 battles were fought1 reverses took place1 victories were won--and the news filtered slowly home by hand4 ,larger items of information arrived generally in the course of a few weeks2 particulars as to individuals often not for months4 ,now1 not only does a check or a success on one day become known to the ,empire at large on the day following2 but even while a hard-fought battle is being carried on1 we at home sometimes hear of it1 and strain our mental vision1 and watch in suspense for the ending4 ,what would our forefathers have thought of that historic day1 when the beleaguered garrison of ,ladysmith was fiercely assaulted1 and we--seven thousand miles distant--knew what was being done2 hearing that the heroic defenders were 8hard-pressed10 and no more8 ,hours of agonised impatience were lived through2 not only in ,england1 but in many a far-off ,colony beyond the ,ocean1 all waiting for the result4 ,not that the news might not have been sooner sent from ,south ,africa4 ,delay was due to the cutting short of local sunshine1 so that a heliographic message could not be flashed across a few miles of veldt4 ,this great advance has come about1 not by improvements in the world's shipping1 though such improvements have not been small1 but by means of the ,electric ,cable4 ,not over the ,ocean1 but under the ,ocean1 messages are despatched with lightning speed1 from man to man1 in all parts of the civilised ,earth4 ,nor is this all4 ,quite lately another and still more marvellous means of communication has been discovered2 a means which1 if successfully followed out1 as seems now probable1 will tend still further to revolutionise the life of ships at sea4 ,by means of ,wireless ,telegraphy man can exchange thoughts with man1 when the two are separated by many miles of distance4 ,watchers on a lonely lightship1 far from land1 can appeal in trouble to their friends on shore4 ,the ,admiral of a great war fleet can send his voiceless commands through space1 unhampered by wire or cable1 unhindered by fog or storm4 ,not under the water1 but through or above the water these messages journey2 and in the course of time1 this last new method of signalling may even largely supersede the use of submarine cables4 ,smaller and smaller grows our world1 as greater and greater become the possibilities of intercourse between places and countries1 the inhabitants of which1 not very long ago1 were cut off from one another by months of arduous travel4 ,distance is a matter of time1 not of miles4 ,england is nearer now to her ,indian ,dominions than she was two hundred years ago to ,italy4 ,the enormous importance of the command of the sea to the inhabitants of ,great ,britain is1 perhaps1 more fully realised at the present time by ,britons generally than ever before4 ,other ,nationalities are compact1 homogeneous1 self-contained1 self-supporting4 ,they have sometimes their ,colonies over the water1 more or less mere excrescences1 additions hooked on for a purpose1 separation from which would entail no vital loss to the ruling country4 ,the word 8,mother-country0 would be a misnomer in such cases4 ,but with ,great ,britain her over-sea ,colonies are an essential part of the 8body-politic0--no more to be lopped off without injury and peril to the whole ,empire1 than a man's limbs can be lopped off without suffering1 and loss of blood1 and danger to his life4 ,this great ,empire of modern days is reckoned to contain 8between eleven and twelve millions of square miles0 of land2 and 8in round numbers four hundred millions0 of subjects4 ,the four hundred millions are not1 like the hundreds of millions of ,chinese1 all together in one part1 all surrounded by a single containing border4 ,they are everywhere2 in every clime2 on every ocean2 under tropical skies2 around temperate seas2 amid frozen plains4 ,each fraction of the ,empire is divided from other fractions by the ,ocean2 and this makes needful1 as an absolute essential to the integrity of the ,empire1 the command of leading ,ocean-highways1 by which the different portions are united4 ,from ,england to ,india2 from ,england to ,canada2 from ,england to ,australia2 from ,england to ,south ,africa2 from ,england to ,gibraltar and ,malta and ,egypt2 from ,england to lesser ,dependencies innumerable--always the 8roadway0 is over-sea2 always the route is across the ocean-waters4 ,those ocean highways are thronged by the ,empire's ships2 and under those seas thousands of miles of stout cable in all directions serve as do the 8speaking tubes0 in some large business establishment4 ,as surely as the existence of ,great ,britain depended in earlier days upon the strength of her ,navy1 so surely does the existence of the ,british ,empire depend in these later days upon her command of the sea4 ,once let that vanish1 and the ,empire must fall to pieces4 ,a little ,island in northern waters1 clothed often in fogs1 small in extent1 crowded in population1 without the means 8aboard0 of feeding its own people2--yet1 from that same little ,island are extended wide sheltering ,wings around the whole globe1 guarding her ,dependencies1 warning off interference on the part of other ,powers4 ,so that1 in the infancy of many a young ,daughter-land1 and even in later more vigorous growth1 the ,children have been protected2 and no man1 no potentate1 whatever his ambitions might be1 has dared to lay a finger on them4 ,but the benefit is not all or only on one side4 ,as years go by1 children repay their parents' care4 ,these young sheltered lands across the ,ocean are growing strong4 ,and in the day when the ,mother-land found herself in difficulties1 they joyously sprang one and all to her help1 giving freely of their time1 their money1 their strength1 their bravest and best1 their very life-blood1 in her service4 ,god-given1 surely1 is this mighty ,empire into the hands of the ,anglo-,saxon ,race1 to be used for ,god and for the good of ,man1 to be governed in the ,name and in the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,it is a marvellous and unique sight4 ,a world-wide ,empire of modern days2 divided by broad extents of ,ocean2 held together1 not by fear1 not by the sword1 not by the iron heel of despotism1 not even primarily by self-interest1 but by ,bonds of ,love4 ,a congeries of free ,nations1 ,mother and ,children1 united into ,,one1 by the noblest and purest of all ties2 having had through over sixty years for its centre1 for the controlling idea and motive of ,empire1 a ,woman of tender heart and ,royal spirit1 a ,queenly figure on ,her ,throne1 to whom those hundreds of millions in many ,lands were dear1 since one and all they were to ,her--8,my ,people40 ,and though ,she has passed away1 that thought has been taken up by ,her ,royal successor1 one of whose first ,kingly utterances was in the form of letters addressed--not only to 8,my ,people10 but to 8,my ,people beyond the ,seas40 ,thus around the whole world1 in every zone1 through both hemispheres1 about every ocean1 the ,union ,jack never ceases to flutter in the breeze4 ,a ,frenchman lately1 speaking in public1 described half humorously how1 as he journeyed round our globe1 at each halting-place1 at each coaling-station1 he found invariably 8that bit of ,rag10 so dear to the ,briton4 ,and no wonder6 for it is the ,,rag which stands for ,freedom4 ,in the lower ,creation1 under ocean-waters1 we have seen how the fierce perpetual struggle for existence goes on2 how1 with scarcely more than one exception1 that of the mother for her little one1 each creature lives and thinks and fights for itself alone4 ,but man is capable of better things4 ,a man may forget self for his ,country's sake4 ,he may lose sight of ease and gain1 in thought for the poorer1 the weaker1 the darker tribes of ,earth--under that protecting ,flag4 ,wherever it goes1 north or south1 east or west1 there go also ,freedom1 ,justice1 and a liberal recognition of the rights of ,man1 even of the feeblest1 even of the blackest-skinned4 ,for the first time in the ,world's ,history this grand and high ideal rules in the counsels of an ,empire wide as the ,ocean itself4 ,illustration ,transcriber's ,notes ,the following changes have been made to the text as printed4 #a4 ,illustrations and footnotes have been located in appropriate paragraph breaks4 #b4 ,obvious typographical errors have been corrected4 #c4 ,where a word is used repeatedly in the same way1 hyphenation has been made consistent1 preferring the form most often used in the printed work1 or failing that the more usual form in general use at the time of publication4 ,no typographical change has been made within direct quotes from other works4 #d4 ,page #h3 ,vasco de ,gama has been changed to ,vasco da ,gama4