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~ jive in. OCTOBER 26, 1899. THE MARINE RECORD. IS a IN THE OCEAN’S DEPTHS. The temperature at the bottom of the ocean is nearly down to freezing point, and sometimes actually below it. There is a total absence of light, as far as sunlight is con- cerned, and there is an enormous pressure, reckoned at about a ton to the square inch in every thousand fathoms, which is 160 times greater than that of the atmosphere we At 2,500 fathoms the pressure is 30 times more powerful than the steam pressure of a locomotive when drawing a train. As.late as 1880a leading zoologist ex- plained the existence of deep-sea animals at such depths by assuming that their bodies were composed of solids and liquids of great density, and comtained no air. This, how- ever, is not the case with deep-sea fish, which are provided with air-inflated swimming bladders. If one of these fish, in full chase after its prey, happens to ascend beyond a cer- tain level, its bladder becomes distended with the decreased pressure, and carries it in spite of its efforts, still higher in its course; in fact, members of this unfortunate class are ‘liable to become victims to the unusual accident of falling _ ren and inaccessible fastnesses of Wales. upward, and no douht meet with a violent death soon after leaving their accustomed level, and long before their bodies reach the surface in a distorted and unnatural state. Even ground sharks, brought up from a depth of no more than 500 fathoms, expire before they gain the surface. The fauna of the deep sea—with a few exceptions hitherto only known as fossils—are new and specially modified forms of families generally inhabiting shallow waters in modern times, and have been driven down to the depths of the ocean by their more powerful rivals in the battle of life, much as the ancient Britons were compelled to withdraw to the bar- Some of their organs have undergone considerable modification in corres- pondence to the changed conditions of their new habitats. Thus, down to 900 fathoms their eyes have generally be- come enlarged, to make the best of the faint light which may possibly penetrate there. After 1,000 fathoms these organs are still further enlarged, or so greatly reduced that in some species they disappear altogether, and are replaced by enormously long feelers. The only light at great depths which would enable large eyes to be of any service is the _ phosphorescence of deep-sea animals. We know that at the surface this light is often very power- ful, and Sir William Thomson has recorded one occasion on which the sea at night was ‘‘a perfect blaze of phosphor- escence, so strong that lights.and shadows were thrown on the sails, and it was easy to read the smallest print.’ It is thought possible by several naturalists that certain portions of the sea bottom may be as brilliantly illuminated by this sort of light as the streets of a European city after sunset. Some deep-sea fish have two parallel rows of small circular phosphorescent organs running along the whole length of their bodies, and as they glide through the dark waters of the profound abysses they must look like model mail-ships, with rows of shining portholes. Sir John Murray described to the members of the Geo- graphical Section the conditions of life in the great depths of the ocean. Of the 103,000,000 square miles which the ocean floor measures, more than half, he said, was at a depth of between two and three geographical miles. On the Chal- lenger charts all the arears where the depths exceeded 3,000 fathoms had been called ‘‘deeps,” and distinctive names had been conferred upon them. Forty-three depressions were now known, 24 in the Paci- fic, three in the Indian Ocean, 15 in the Atlantic and one in the Southern Ocean. Within these ‘‘deeps’’ 24 soundings exceed 4,000 fathoms, including three exceeding 5,000 fathoms. The greatest depth of all was to the east of Friendly Islands, in the South Pacific, where the depth was 5,155 fathoms, or, again, 2,000 feet more below the level of the sea than the highest part of the Himalayas was above it, In the great depths below two geographical miles the water was very little above freezing point, and was a region of darkness as well as cold, for the direct rays of the sun were wholly absorbed in passing through the superficial layers of water. Vegetation was quite absent over 93 per cent. of the ocean bed, and that cold, dark floor was buried in dead marine organisms, In Sir John Murray’s own words, “Tt thus happens that over nearly the whole floor of the ocean we have mingled the remains of animals which had lived at the surface of the water in tropical sun-light, and the remains of those which had lived all their lives in dark- ness and at a temperature near to the freezing point of fresh water.”’ oo or oor ALUMINUM FOR SHIPBUILDING. From the annual report of the British Aluminum Associa- tion we gather that a good deal has been said with regard to the injurious action of sea water on aluminum, but the board knew, by long experience, that aluminum did not de- teriorate in salt water to the extent that had been alleged. The yacht Defender, which won the last international race, was built very largely of aluminum, and, after four and one- half years, she was found to have deteriorated so little that very few repairs were necessary to put her into condition to compete with the Columbia at the recent trials. Torpedo boats and other ships, moreover, had been built in France partly of aluminum. As aluminum was only one-third the weight of copper, it was apparent that about one-half the quantity of aluminum gave a corresponding amount of elec- trical conductivity to that given by copper. Lord Kelvin said that in the fittings of ships aluminum had proved valu- able, convenient and of great practical utility. As tothe actual construction of ships with aluminum, that was a mat- ter which would have to be settled by the experience of engineers. He did not believe that the question of the effi- ciency of protecting aluminum by paint had yet been gone into sufficiently. If they compared an unprotected alum- inum plate with steel or iron, he thought it would be found that the former did not rust away s> quickly as the latter. ro oor NAVAL ESTIMATES FOR THE YEAR. The estimates for the naval establishment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, have just been approved by Sec- retary Long. The estimates amount to $73,045,183.15, an increase of $24,537,187.57. ‘Ihe increase includes $12,268, - 474.32 for public works at various navy yards and stations, the current appropriation for the same purpose being $5,840, - 786.50. For the new naval academy $2,021,000 will be re- quired as compared with the current appropriation of $720,- ooo. For the increase of the navy, including construction, machinery, armor and armament, $22,983,101 will be re- quired, while the current appropriation is only $10,392,402. The Bureau of Construction and Repairs requires $3,000,000 additional. The Bureau of Steam Engineering $1,000,000, and for pay of the navy about $700,000. The Bureau of Ordnance on the other hand requires about $700,000 less. Sern EEEnnnnnnnnnnnInereee ct ce MARNE PATENTS. Patents on marine inventions issued Oct. 17, 1899. Re- ported specially for Tak MARINE RECORD. Complete copies of patents furnished at the rate of ten cents each. 634,864, 634,865. Dredges. L. W. Bates, Chicago, Ill, 634,885. Blade for screw-propellers. James Glover, North Melbourne, Victoria. 635,035. Means for propelling vessels. Benjamin Brown, Chicago IIl., assignor of one-half to Rachel R. G. Brown and A. J. Robertson, same place. 635,068. Dock construction. Victor Windett, Chicago, Ill. 635,069. Ljife-preserver. Z. C. Angevine, Los Angeles, Cal. 635,085. Hawser-indicator. J. A. Varnum, Boston, Mass. 635,165. Constructing piersor dams. A. P. Elten, Cleve- land, O., administrator of H. C. W. Weyhe, deceased, as- signor to C. B. T. Wilckens, Bremen, Germany. 635,208. Current-motor. William Turner, Wenatchee, Wash. 635,270. Dredge. E. A. Rix and P. B. Donahoo, San Francisco, Cal. 635,384. Combined steering and propelling apparatus. Isador Lehman, Cleveland, Ohio. 635,394. Lift-bridge. August Ruthenberg, Rochester, N. Y., assignor of one-half to C. EK. Kohlmetz, same place. 635,439. Life preserver. Ernst Kunert, Newark, N. J. 635,487. Raising or lowering steamboat stacks. Adam Jacobs, East Riverside, Pa. , TOBIN BRONZE (Trade-Mark Registered.) 5.F.HODGE &C Tensile strength of plates one-quarter inch thick, upward of 78,000 Ibs, per square inch. Torsional strength equal to the best machinery steel. Non-corrosive in sea water. € f 3 Square and Hexagon Bars for Bolt Forgings, Pump Piston Rods, Yacht Shaftings, etc. Rolled Sheets and Plates for Pump Linings and Condenser ‘Tube Sheets, Centerboards, Fin Keels and Rudders, The Can be forged at cherry red heat. Round Send for Pamphlet. Ansonia Brass & Copper Co, SOLE MANUFACTURERS, 99 John St., NEW YORK. MARINE ENGINES, PROPELLER WHEELS, “DECK HOISTERS, MARINE REPAIRS. @ sie ATWATER STREET, DETROIT, MICH. : Chas. E. & W. F. 58 William Street, New York City. 5 and 6 Billiter Avenue, E. C., - Insurance BROWN &CO., - - J. G. KEITH & CO., - London, England. - 202 Main Street, Buffalo, WN. Y. PARKER & MILLEN, 15 Atwater Street, W., Detroit, Mich. 138 Rialto Building, Chicago, Ill. LA SALLE & CO., Board of Trade Building, Duluth, Minn. Are prepared to meke rates on all classes of Marine Insurance on the Great Lakes, both CARGORS AND HULLS. Peck, Royal Insurance Building, Chicago, Ill. - C. T. BOWRING & CO. ROYAL INSURANCE BLDG. INCORPORATED 1899. The Salvage Association of North America, AN ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF UNDER-= WRITERS’ INTERESTS AS REGARDS WRECKED AND DAMAGED PROPERTY AT SEA. Application for the services of surveyors of this Association may be made to either the Chicago or New York offices. New York Office, MUTUAL LIFE INS. GO. BLDG.