THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 'V/ x> THE ARGONAUT IN THE OPEN SEA. Pag-e 187. The Frigate-Bird. Pa-e 219. . ^lelson anb <8tons, Bonbon, Ombitrgh, nn^ THE SEA AND ITS WONDERS A COMPANION VOLUME TO "THE WORLD AT HOME:' BY Jftarg anfo (Bli^abetk giirbg, AUTHORS OF "THINGS IN THE FOREST," ETC. LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW; EDINBURGH ; AND NEW YORK. I A I! Rights Reserved.'. L. ( BONDERS abound in the Ocean. It is a world in itself, and is subject to its own laws. "In this great and wide sea are creeping things in- numerable, both small and great." Animals, plants, and insects have a home within its waters, far beyond the domain or even the reach of Man. In the present Volume a Companion Volume to " The World at Home"- the Wonders of the Sea are brought under the reader's notice. The fantastic forms and shining creatures that people the recesses of the Deep are here placed before him. The object aimed at has been to allure him to the study of the great book of Nature, rather than to perplex him with a strictly scientific arrangement. The various chapters are amply illustrated with Drawings taken from life, and on which the utmost care has been bestowed. M. AND E. K. Contents. CURRENTS IN THE SEA, ... ... ... ' 13 RAIN AND DEW, THE BRAIN STONE, 14 SPRINGS AND FOUNTAINS, CURRENTS IN THE AIR THE TRADE-WIND, THE OPEN SEA, ... ... "" THE GULF STREAM, THE REGION OF CALMS, THE MOTIONLESS SEA, ' 31 THE CYCLONE, ... ... THE WIND-SPOUT AND THE WATER-SPOUT, A LITTLE ABOUT THE TIDE, ... THE TIDE-RACE, WHAT MAKES THE SEA SHINETl "* MINUTE CREATURES IN THE SEA, MORE ABOUT THE WORLD OF ATOMS, THE SPONGE, THE FAMILY OF POLYPS, THE POLYP AND ITS HOUSE, ... CORAL ISLANDS, ... ... ... ** *** 62 THE SEA-FAN, ... ... ... ... "? " 67 THE SEA-PEN, ... ... ... ... 70 71 THE RED CORAL, ... ... ... ... 72 THE BARNACLE, ... ... ... ... 74 CONTENTS, WORMS THAT LIVE IN THE SEA, WORMS THAT BUILD HOUSES, FLOWERS OF THE OCEAN, THE SEA- ANEMONE. MORE ABOUT THE SEA- ANEMONE, THE MEDUSAE, A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE MEDUSA, ... CREATURES THAT WEAR ARMOUR, MORE ABOUT THE LOBSTER, ... THE CRAB, THE CRAB THAT STEALS A HOUSE, INSTINCT OF THE CRAB, ... ... THE SHRIMP, A LITTLE ABOUT OXYGEN, THE COLOUR OF THE SEA, A LITTLE ABOUT THE FISH, ... FISHES THAT WALK ON DRY LAND, THE FISHING-FROG, FISHES THAT BUILD A NEST, ... ... THE SWORD-FISH, ... CUNNING FISHES, THE FLYING-FISH, ... THE HERRING, THE SALMON, STINGING FISHES, ... THE TORPEDO, THE MACKEREL AND ITS RELATIONS, ... THE REAL SEA-SERPENT, THE SHARK, THE COD, ... FISHES THAT PUFF THEMSELVES UP LIKE A BALL, THE PIPE-FISH, THE LAMPREY, THE GLUTINOUS HAG, MUStCAL FISHES, 76 78 80 82 S4 86 S8 91 94 96 99 102 104 107 111 112 114 115 119 120 122 124 120 130 132 133 135 139 142 146 151 153 156 157 159 CONTENTS. xi THE LILY STARS, ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 159 THE BRITTLE STAR-FISH, ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 163 THE STAR-FISH, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 165 THE SUCKERS OF THE STAR-FISH, ... ... ... ... ... ... 167 THE SEA-URCHIN, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 169 THE SEA-CUCUMBER, ..'. ... ... ... ... ... ... 172 FISHING FOR SEA-CUCUMBERS, ... ... ... ... ... ... 174 THE CUTTLE-FISH, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 176 THE BONE OF THE CUTTLE-FISH, ... ... ... ... ... ... 179 FISHING FOR THE CUTTLE-FISH, ... ... ... ... ... ... 181 SEPIA, OR THE INK OF THE CUTTLE-FISH, ... ... ... ... ...'183 THE ARGONAUT, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 187 THE PEARLY NAUTILUS, ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 190 THE WINGED INSECTS OF THE SEA, ... ... ... ..^ ... ... 192 THE SEA-SNAIL, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 193 HOW THE SHELL IS MADE, ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 196 THE TYRIAN PURPLE, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 198 THE MUSSEL, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ' ... 200 THE RAZOR-SHELL, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 202 THE COCKLE, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 203 THE OYSTER, ... ... ... ... ... ... 205 YOUNG OYSTERS, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 206 THE PEARL, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 207 FISHING FOR PEARLS, ... ... ... ... ... .., ... 208 THE BIRD, ... ... ... ... ... ... .., ... 213 THE FEATHERS OF THE BIRD, ..." ... ... ... ... ... 214 BIRDS OF THE SEA, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 216 THE FRIGATE-BIRD, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 219 THE ALBATROSS, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 221 THE PENGUIN, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 226 SAINT KILDA, ..; ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 230 THE BIRDS OF SAINT KILD A THE FULMAR, ... ... ... ... ... 232 THE GULL, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 234 THE CLIFFS OF THE SEA-BIRDS, ... ... ... ... ... ... 237 THE PUFFIN, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 239 xii CONTENTS. THE GANNET, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 241 THE TOWN OF THE GORFOU, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 244 THE GREBE, .'.. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 245 THE PELICAN, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 247 THE EAGLE OF THE SEA, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 250 PLANTS THAT LIVE IN THE SEA, ... ... ... ... ... ... 252 THE SEA- WEED THAT IS USED FOR FOOD, ... ... ... ... ... 254 SODA FROM THE SEA, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 255 MEDICINE THAT COMES FROM THE SEA, ... ... ... ... ... 256 THE WEED THAT LOOKED LIKE A SERPENT, ... ... ... ... ... 257 ANIMAL HEAT, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 261 CREATURES CALLED REPTILES, ... ... ... ... ... ... 263 THE GREAT FISH-LIZARD, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 265 THE LIZARD, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 268 THE TURTLE, ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... 269 ENEMIES OF THE TURTLE, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 271 THE POLAR BEAR, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 274 THE BEAR AND HER CUBS, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 276 THE SEAL, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ' ... 278 MORE ABOUT SEALS, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 282 THE WALRUS, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 285 HOW THE WHALE BREATHES, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2S7 MORE ABOUT THE .WHALE, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 289 THE ENEMIES OF THE WHALE, ... ... ... ... ... ... 291 THE NARWHAL, ... ... . . ... ... ... ... ... 296 THE LIGHTHOUSE, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 298 THE LIFE-BOAT, ... ... 300 THE SEA AND ITS WONDERS. CURRENTS IN THE SEA. A MODERN writer has said that the waters are the greatest travellers upon the face of the earth. They go up by the mountains, and down by the valleys. They are always on the move, ever restless, arid ever changing. They move about by currents. A current is like a river in the ocean, that goes winding on, in its own proper route, starting from its own point and reaching its own haven. The great wide sea is full of currents. Some of them are icy cold ; others are warm and genial. In the seas of the Torrid Zone, the water is warm on the surface. But it is not warm below. At some depth the water is very cold. It is cold, because an icy current is flowing beneath. This current comes from the Poles, and flows to the Equator. It flows beneath, because its coldness makes it heavy. Heat expands bodies, and makes them light and buoyant. Cold condenses and makes them heavy. The water on the surface of the sea is heated by the rays of the sun, 14 EAIN AND DEW. and goes streaming along and making warm currents. These currents flow away from the Equator to the Poles. The heavy current beneath goes just in the opposite direction, from the Poles to the Equator. There is another kind of movement going on in the sea. I mean evaporation. You see this happen every day. Particles of water fly off, in the shape of steam, from the spout of the tea-kettle. The same sort of thing is going on in the sea. Particles keep flying off, drawn up, as it were, by the heat of the sun. They rise into the air, and, for a time at least, are gone. By-and-by we shall hear a little more about them. As the surface water keeps flying off in evaporation, the water from below rises to take its place. This also evaporates in its turn. Thus the waters keep ascending and descending. And, in the great body of the ocean, a constant movement, or circulation, is going on. RAIN AND DEW. I AM going to tell you about the travels of the waters through the vast region of the air. The particles which have flown off from the bosom of the ocean, rise, as we have seen, and appear for the moment to be gone. But their work is only just begun. Let us follow them in their wonderful career. For they will descend again in rain, in dew, in hail, and in snow. How beautiful is the dew ! Have you not seen it sparkling on the grass like diamonds ? It came from the vast storehouse in the air, and was supplied by the particles that flew off from the bosom of the ocean. But how did it come upon the blades of grass ? In obedience to one of Nature's laws. KAIN AND DEW. 17 Every kind of body, whether animal or plant, or stick or stone, has in it a certain amount of heat, or, as it is called, caloric. During the night, each blade of grass has been giving out a portion of heat into the air, but receiving none from the air again. And the earth, on which the grass is growing, can give but very little warmth to replace that which is gone. So that the blades of grass become colder than the air. In this state of coldness they cannot take in the moisture that comes upon them from the atmosphere. So it is deposited upon them in pearly drops, called dew. If there are clouds in the sky, the clouds throw back the heat to the earth, and prevent it from being lost in space. Thus on cloudy nights there is little or no dew. In windy weather, there can be no dew. The air next to the ground is constantly being blown away, before it has time to get cold enough to deposit dew. Consequently there is none. You have seen the clouds floating about in the sky. Sometimes they are light and fleecy ; sometimes heavy and dark. Often the setting sun will paint them with gold and purple and crimson. What makes the clouds ? Those same particles which have flown from the bosom of the ocean. When a warm current of air is carried into a cold region, by the winds, the particles condense and become visible to us. They become, in fact, a cloud. Thin wreaths of clouds are sometimes seen floating on the tops of the highest mountains. Currents of air have carried them thus high above their ancient home in the waters. Sometimes the cloud goes on getting more and more moisture. It becomes too heavy to float in the air, and it descends in rain ; or else congeals, and falls in snow or hail. The rain, which has been thus discharged, waters the earth. " He watereth the hills from his chambers." 18 SPRINGS AND FOUNTAINS. SPRINGS AND FOUNTAINS. I HAVE not yet done with the vapours that rise up from the bosom of the ocean. We have seen that they form dew, and clouds, and rain. But their career is not ended. They supply the sources of springs or brooks. When the rain falls on a light soil, it sinks in, and is absorbed by the earth. It keeps sinking deeper and deeper, till it reaches some spot where it can get no further. The water settles in this spot, as in a kind of basin. Other rains come, and sink in the same basin. Thus the basin gets full. Then the water will force its way, by degrees, to some outlet, and become a spring. If the water that feeds the spring comes down from a mountain, or has but a little way to sink through the ground, the spring, when it gushes out, will be cold. But if the water that feeds the spring has to sink to a great depth in the earth, it becomes heated, and the spring comes forth as a hot spring. For I must tell you that the earth gets warmer the deeper you penetrate into it. This is a matter of daily experience. The colliers who are at work in a coal-pit feel oppressed by the heat which comes from below. And at a very much lower depth than the coal- pit all the water would actually boil. Nay, if we went lower still, right through the crust of the earth, the very rocks would be melted. So you can well understand what it is which makes the water gusli forth as a hot spring. And there is aD other kind of spring, which is of the greatest use to us. I mean a medicinal spring. In this case the water, in its progress, has become mixed with a variety of mineral particles. Some of these particles have a medicinal property. When the spring gushes forth, its waters may be called healing waters. People flock to them, to bathe their crippled limbs, or to drink the draught which is as good as medicine. CURRENTS IN THE AIR THE TRADE-WIND. 19 Thus you see how simple are the materials with which Nature works her greatest wonders out of which she fashions clouds, and rain, and springs, and fountains, for the comfort and the health of man ! CURRENTS IN THE AIR THE TRADE-WIND. NOTHING seems to us so changeable and uncertain as the wind. It literally "bloweth where it listeth," and is out of the reach and con- trol of man. But even the winds are subject to laws, in the great economy of Nature ; and travel, not by chance, but each in its own track. In the Torrid Zone, the heated air rises high in column-like shapes, and flows towards the Poles. All the time, cold currents of air are flowing from the icy Poles towards the Equator, and fill up the space from which the heated air has gone. Thus there is a constant movement, or circulation, as well in the regions of the air as in the sea. By this means the atmosphere is kept pure. If there were no causes to hinder them, the winds or currents of air would always flow in this way from north to south. But as the ocean currents are turned from their course by various obstacles, so it is with the winds. Several causes help to alter their course, and incline them to the west, instead of due north and south. I can mention one of them. The daily movement of the earth on its axis. The earth, as you know, keeps turning round from west to east, and bringing us alternate day and night. Now, the winds, of which I am speaking, come rushing from the Poles to the Equator. As they approach it, they become affected by this move- ment of the earth. 20 CURRENTS IN THE AIR THE TRADE-WIND. v The earth travels faster than they do, so that they are left behind, and driven out of their straight course. The earth is going east, and they incline to the west. These two currents, from the North and South Poles, meet each other in the Tropics, and form one great current which goes from east to west. This is the trade-wind. It is called the trade- wind, because trading vessels used to be driven along by it. In those days, steam-ships were not invented, and sailors depended wholly on the wind. When Columbus was sailing towards the New World, he got into the track of the trade-wind. He began to be frightened. He thought, if the wind always blew in one direction, how could he get back? Another traveller sailed round the world, blown gently along by the trade- wind. He came from Portugal, and his name was Magelhaens. He went sailing on, over a vast ocean, that was as smooth and placid as could be. He called it the Pacific Ocean, because it was so calm. But the trade- wind meets with many things to oppose it. Great pieces of land, called continents, come in its path. In the Indian Ocean it is broken up, and blows six months one way, and six months another. Then it is called the monsoon. I will tell you the reason why the trade-wind cannot always blow one way. It is interfered with and forced back by columns of air. The monsoon, or trade-wind if you like to call it so, has been blowing six months from the north-east. Now the plains of Asia glow with the burning rays of the sun. The air gets hot, and rises, as it always does when in a heated state. It would leave a void, but this Nature does not permit. Columns of air rush from the Equator to fill up the space. These columns meet the trade-wind and drive it back. They make it THE OPEN SEA. 21 take a different course, and blow from the south-west instead of from the north-east. This change in the monsoon does not take place all at once. The land requires a little time to heat and to cool. When it is going to change, the weather becomes unsettled. Black clouds get up in the sky. There are flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, more terrific than ever we have in England. The waves toss about, and are covered with foam. Rain falls in torrents. There are great floods ; and on the land, houses are swept away by the fury of the tempest. THE OPEN SEA. PEOPLE who go out to hunt for whales, in the Arctic Seas, have a very useful custom. Each harpoon thrown at the whale, is marked with the name of the ship, and the date when it was thrown. Thus, when a whale escapes from one ship, and is hunted down by another, people in the second ship can tell how long it is since the animal was wounded. The harpoon with the name and date is found sticking in its body. Now, a suggestion occurred to people's minds relating to the whales. A whale was killed, near Behring's Strait, with an old harpoon in its body. According to the date, the ship from which the harpoon had been flung was at that time cruising in Baffin's Bay. If you look at the map, you will see that Baffin's Bay is on one side of the extreme north of America, and Behring's Strait on the other. How did the whale make its way ? The only route then known was round Cape Horn, or round the Cape of Good Hope. But there had not been time for the whale to take such a journey. And it was sore wounded and stricken, and had not the strength. 22 THE OPEN SEA. Besides, the whale of the north has not the same habits as the whale of the south. It shuns hot seas and warm regions. It will not get into the Gulf Stream if it can help. So it could never have gone round by Cape Horn. It was clear that the whale had found a shorter route, and one which mankind as yet knew not of. It had found a north-west passage from one ocean to another. And another thing was also as clear as daylight. There must have been open water for the whale to swim in. An open sea round the North Pole ! But no human eye had ever beheld that sea. Some people laughed at it, and said it was a fable. How could there be an open sea in that dreary region of ice and snow? Had not ships been set fast, and had not brave men died of cold and hunger ? Yes ; but still there were winged messengers which kept on saying, again and again, that such a thing must be. The messengers were the birds. The birds flew north, instead of south, to escape the winter. Where did the birds all fly to ? Surely not to eternal ice and snow ! There was a young American, whose heart was set on finding the open sea. His name was Elisha Kane. He had the title of Dr. Kane given to him. He had thought of the subject, and studied it, till it possessed his whole mind. He resolved to set out on a voyage of discovery. The people of America were very much interested in the success of this voyage. Two ships were presented to Dr. Kane, and sailors came forward, and placed themselves under his command. Even ladies worked, with their own hands, to raise money for the expedition. Three things were promised by the crew of Dr. Kane. THE OPEN SEA. 23 Implicit obedience, abstinence from intoxicating liquors, and from pro- fane language. Thus supported and encouraged, Dr. Kane set out on his first expedition. It failed. But the American people did not despair. Neither did Dr. Kane. Another expedition was set on foot. This time, the English sent supplies from London. They wished for success on two accounts. They wished to spread the knowledge of the Bible through the most remote regions. And they wished to gain tidings of Sir John Franklin, who had been lost in his attempt to find out the North- West Passage. This second expedition set out under the command of Dr. Kane. Dr. Kane was scarcely thirty years of age ; but he had been a great traveller. 24 THE OPEN SEA. He had influence over his men. He was full of hope, and kept assuring them of success. He was strong, and patient, and enduring. But the powers of the North ice, and cold, and frost met and battled with him at every step. Winter overtook him speedily. He was shut up six months in the ice. The second winter found him still searching in those frightful regions. It killed nearly all his men. Only eight were left alive. If it had not been for the kindness of the Esquimaux, he must have perished. The hearts of his men began to fail them. They wanted to turn back. Their captain had promised them an open sea a grand discovery; and to return crowned with glory. But where was the open sea to be found ? The third winter came. He had scarcely a friend or follower left. He had to depend entirely on the Esquimaux. In this desperate state, success was at hand. His men went out, one clay, on an expedition. They pushed forward, perhaps with the energy of despair. All at once, behold, there was the open sea ! The open sea, after which they had sought so long and painfully, rolled at their feet. There were great waves dashing on the shore. The air was milder and more genial. And there were the sea-birds skimming the surface of the deep. Yes ; the very birds which had gone to the north to escape the cold ! The discovery was made ; but it was bought with life. Dr. Kane had scarce strength to quit this region where he had suffered so much. He was successful, indeed. He had approached nearer to the Pole than any other man. But nature could do no more he reached a milder climate, but, alas ! it was only to die ! THE OPEN SEA. THE GULF STREAM. 27 THE GULF STREAM. THERE is a broad stream flowing in the midst of the ocean. It does not mix with the rest of the sea. Its colour is different. In some parts of its course it is vividly marked by a deep blue tint. You may see the line where, on either side, it touches the surrounding waves. A vessel will sometimes be half in the stream, and half out of it. The stream is so warm, that to get into it is like getting into summer. It happens now and then that a ship's crew, tired with battling with the winds, and half frozen with cold, will run their vessel into it. Here they find warmth and comfort, and can bathe their benumbed limbs in its kindly waters. Then they can start on their voyage with renewed energy and strength. This mighty stream flows round the world. It has an influence on the climate of many nations. It has been an object of wonder and inte- rest in all times. It brings warmth, and genial weather, wherever it approaches. It is a benefactor of the world! The name of the stream is the Gulf Stream. It is called so, when it emerges from the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is full of hot currents and streams ; indeed, it has been said to be like a caldron. When the Gulf Stream issues from this caldron, it is a rapid current of warm water, which flows across the Atlantic Ocean. When it reaches the Azores, it divides. Part of the stream is driven towards Europe. The other part flows towards the western coast of Africa, and returns to the Equator, from whence it set out. The stream will have performed a journey of twenty thousand miles. The Gulf Stream carries many productions of the Tropics to the shores of colder countries. Tropical fishes are found swimming in its waters. They go along with it to colder regions keeping in the stream, or else they would die. 28 THE REGION OF CALMS. Before America was discovered, it brought seeds, and fruits, and trunks of trees from the new and unknown world beyond the sea. But the warmth it brings is the most important. You would scarcely believe the amount of heat it spreads over the Atlantic, and carries with it to the shores near which it flows. There are pleasant spots on the coast of France, where invalids can enjoy a summer climate all the year round. Figs and vines grow out of doors, and ripen their fruits. This is owing to the happy effect of the Gulf Stream. Further south there are places where the climate is cold and ungenial, and where neither vines nor figs can flourish. This is owing to the absence of the Gulf Stream. England itself would be a dreary country without the Gulf Stream. Our ships could never have sailed to every part of the world. For our ports and harbours would have been blocked up by ice. The Gulf Stream makes itself felt even at Spitzbergen, which, you know, is a great deal further north than Iceland. It is thought that some such warm current has reached the Pole, and caused the open sea, about which I have told you. THE REGION OF CALMS. THERE is a region called by the sailors " The Region of Calms." It lies on either side of the Equator, and forms a belt or zone. Here reigns a perfect serenity of the atmosphere, a dull, dead calm, that the sailor dreads more than anything. He has been sailing over a flowing ocean, rippled by the welcome breath of the trade- wind. Overhead, the bright blue sky has been unstreaked by a single cloud. He leaves this happy region behind. The sky is overcast. The waves cease to be tipped with silver foam. He comes to a belt of heavv cloud. The winds are hushed, and THE MOTIONLESS SEA. 81 thick vapour hangs undisturbed in the air. The surface of the sea is like lead. He feels oppressed, and half choked by the atmosphere. The part of the ocean he is now traversing is called the cloud ring. A mass of accumulated vapour collects in this ring. It pours down in torrents of rain. The rains are almost unceasing. Sailors can sometimes scoop up fresh water from the surface of the briny deep. Though it is the region of calms, there will often be frightful storms. Without any warning, furious tempests will arise, and hurricanes sweep round in a circle. Happy is the sailor when he turns his back on this unpleasant region, and his good ship once more ploughs the waves, urged onward by the cheering breeze ! " Down dropped the breeze, the sails dropped down, 'Twas sad as sad could be ; And we did speak, only to break The silence of the sea. " Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion ; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean." THE MOTIONLESS SEA. Is there such a thing in the world ? Yes. At one time, winds and storms alone drove ships into its deserted waters. But now, people who go to the gold diggings sail across it. It is like the Dead Sea. It lies quite out of the usual tracks and roads across the ocean, Birds drop off from the vessel, when she comes hither. There has been a flock of feathered companions flying over the deck, or settling on the mast. The sailor in these lonely seas, far away from sight of land, loves to see the birds. They cheer his solitude. 32 THE CYCLONE. The sea-gull, the petrel, the albatross keep faithful to the ship. Often a cloud of birds will surround it. But when the ship gets near to the Motionless Sea, the gull does not like to go any further. The petrel skims away, and is seen no more. The great albatross forsakes the crew, and lags behind. On the vessel passes, into a region of silence and of death ! The air is still as the grave. There is no note of bird, no hoarse music of the waves. The very waves are dumb ! Where is the Motionless Sea ? In the Southern Ocean. It lies between two great currents of water that are flowing in contrary directions. One is a stream of icy water from the South Pole. It is so cold that it drives all warmer currents before it, instead of mixing with them. This cold current makes the South Pole so terrible to visit. Neither man nor beast can live there. But from the Tropics comes another current, to meer the cold one. This is warm and genial. There is an angle or corner of ocean between these two currents. And here lies the Motionless Sea. The cold current is called Humboldt's Current, because the great traveller Humboldt found out where it started from. You can find it in the map of "currents in the sea." THE CYCLONE. THERE is nothing which sailors dread so much at sea as a tempest. In these days, there are signals, called storm-signals, put round the coast of Great Britain, to warn captains of ships when a storm is coming on. Then, they do not start on their voyage till the storm is over. Out in the deep wide sea, away from every trace of land, there can be no storm-signals. But the sailors know very well what is going to happen. They know THE CYCLONE. 33 there are such things as hurricanes and water-spouts. And they have heard of the terrible cyclone. What is the cyclone ? A fierce tempest, or number of tempests, that travel in a circle, sweeping on and bringing desolation with them. The circle they take is a very wide one. Woe be to the poor ship that comes in their way ! Shall I give you an account of a ship being caught in the cyclone ? The ship was sailing along in the deep sea, when the waves began to roll about, and toss and foam. The wind blew very fiercely indeed, and rose higher and higher. The ship had to struggle, with all her might, against the waves. All the rigging was torn away, and she soon lay without helm or sail, and the waves dashing over the deck and washing everything away. What a terrible position to be in ! The captain knew that he had come in the path of the cyclone, but there was no help for it. The ship had to struggle through as she could. Was the ship wrecked ? No ; she managed to outride the storm, and reached the port for which she was sailing. But another and smaller vessel, that was her companion, and was mak- ing for the same port, was not so fortunate. In the midst of the storm she was lost sight of. The captain kept hoping that she might come after him. Every day, the sailors were on the look-out, for the chance of seeing a speck on the horizon, that might turn out to be the missing ship. Did they ever see the ship again ? I will tell you what happened. One day, a sailor called out that he saw something. He thought it was a raft, covered with shipwrecked sailors, and towed along by boats. The sailors seemed to be waving signals of distress. He felt sure they were the crew of the very ship that was missing. It was a clear bright morning, and the sun shone down on the smooth (2) 3 34 THE WIND-SPOUT AND THE WATEK-SPOUT. waves. The captain declared that he could see the men quite distinctly. And he sent a steamer off to save them. The men on board the steamer fancied they heard piteous cries. They thought they could distinguish the drowning men, stretching out their hands, and praying to be saved. Another minute, and they hoped to rescue them. But it was a mere delusion. A number of trees had been torn up by the tempest from the neighbouring shores, and were being driven along by the current. Nothing else was to be seen. The raft and men had vanished away like the mirage of the desert. Indeed, it was but another kind of mirage, and perhaps even more cruel. The missing ship was never heard of. THE WIND-SPOUT AND THE WATER-SPOUT. THERE is the wind-spout, as well as the water-spout. Both are very terrible to meet with. The wind-spout draws or sucks up the water in the shape of a funnel. A vessel, sometimes, is hurried into the very middle of it. There is no drawing back. She is held in the very grasp of the waters, and seems to be at the bottom of a huge crater of a volcano. There is nothing but darkness around, and a streak of light overhead. Sailors call this dreadful position u the eye of the storm." All kinds of noises stun the ear. The rattling and groaning of the ship, the roar of the waves, and the howling of the wind are heard on every side. Every man on board must expect instant death. But when the ship has been sucked in by the wind-spout, arid then held suspended as it were in the air, it is let go. The furious storm passes onward with a roar like thunder. The masts are split and rent, and the men are deafened and half stunned. But the moment of danger has passed. THE WIND-SPOUT AND THE WATER-SPOUT. 35 Is the water-spout like the wind-spout ? It is perhaps more terrible. There is a dense thick cloud overhead, the shape of a cone with the point downwards. The sky grows dark and lurid. The wind begins to whistle and to howl. And then the water-spout bursts. Lightning flashes and thunder THE WATER-SPOUT. peals. A cone of the water rises up to meet the cone in the air. The sea is white with foam, and is lashed into fury. The ship, if it comes that way, is dragged into the midst of the water- spout, and often wrecked. Sometimes, however, it is said that a vessel has escaped. How has it escaped ? By firing right through the water-spout, and so making a way. 36 A LITTLE ABOUT THE TIDE. But I fear this is a very rare occurrence indeed. Happily, the water-spout itself is rarely met with, even in the Tropics. And a water-spout may not always be large and dense enough to destroy a ship. Or if it is large and dense, it may go on its way, and not meet with a single ship to destroy. A LITTLE ABOUT THE TIDE. You have, no doubt, seen the great Ocean many times. You have watched the waves roll in upon the beach, and reach the spot where the tide turns. Then they would roll back again, as if in obedience to a law that never changed. This movement is called the ebbing and flowing of the tide. THE FLOWING TIDE. The old writers, and the modern writers as well, have talked and thought a great deal about the tide. But all are agreed on one point. The great flowing wave, called the tide, is drawn forward, as it were out of its place, by the influence of the moon. I will try to explain this to you. There is a law in Nature which is called attraction. A LITTLE ABOUT THE TIDE. 37 You may have seen the loadstone or magnet draw a needle to it. The needle was attracted by the loadstone. If you throw an apple up into the air, it will fall down again to the ground. Why does it fall ? Because the earth attracts it. It is drawn to the earth, as the needle is to the magnet. Those active feet of yours are kept to the earth by the law of attraction. If you gave a spring up into the air, you would very soon come down. The earth's attraction would bring you down. Birds, that fly in the air, cannot get beyond the earth's power of attraction. Nothing can. There is a force in the great mass of earth to keep things on its surface. It is one of the wonderful laws of Nature. Now all bodies have this power of attraction, more or less. The great body of the moon has it, and so has the sun. But the sun is further off than the moon, and it cannot attract so much. The moon draws up the great wave of ocean, which is called the tide. The solar tide, or tide caused by the sun, is so small as to be only per- ceived when the sun and moon both act on the water at once. The tides happen twice in twenty-four hours. The earth goes round on her axis in that time, and brings the same point of the ocean twice under the direct influence of the moon. The coming in of the water takes twelve hours, and is called the flux or *"" ^ **' SPRING-TIDES. rising tide. When the water A and B high water ' c and D low; E is the earth> M the moon ' s the sun. reaches a Certain DOint and The sun and moon are drawing together in conjunction, as it is called. In the plate the moon is to us a new moon. When on the begins to retire it is Called opposite side of the earth, it is full moon. Still, being on a line with the sun, spring-tides occur. The sun and moon are then said to be in the reflux or ebb of the tide, meridian. Twice in the course of every month, the sun and the moon come into a line with each other. This happens at new and full moon. Then both THE TIDE-KACE. NEAP-TIDES. Here the sun and moon are drawing against each other in opposition, as it is called. It is high water at A and B, but the tides are very low, as you may see. attract at once, and may be said to draw together. At such times, the tides rise high, and are called spring-tides. But when the sun and the moon act in contrary directions, a contrary effect is produced. Instead of drawing together, one coun- teracts the other. Then the water is low, and is called a neap-tide. The neap-tide happens at the end of the first quar- ter of the moon, and the beginning of the third. The word neap means scanty, and the neap-tide is small, or scanty. The height of the tide is affected, also, by other causes. When a strong wind comes in with the tide, it will drive on the waves in a very furious manner. Sometimes the giant waves will rush in with such power, as to do a great deal of mischief. This is called a storm-tide. People who live on a flat coast, like that of the Netherlands, dread these storm-tides. Far inland, they hear the roar of the waters, and on comes the flood, bursting the dykes, and sweeping everything before it. Villages and towns have been swept away, and fertile lands buried under the sea. THE TIDE-RACE. THE tide rises much higher in some parts of the world than it does in others. In the Tropics, the tide is so slight that it is scarcely seen. Sometimes the tide does a great deal of mischief, and is very dreadful. I will tell you why. There are some rivers which run into the sea with great wide mouths, THE TIDE-RACE. 41 almost like the sea itself. Indeed, such a river is called an arm of the sea. When the tide goes rushing up such a river as this, it meets a current or stream coming down to the sea. Then it seems to get angry, and drives the current before it with fury. Sometimes the river will be full of boats, and then woe betide them ! A great wave comes marching along as fast as a railway train. It is like a wall of white alabaster to look at. It will be four miles in length and thirty feet high. It is a mass of foaming water ! It sweeps over the boats, and strikes them on all sides. Some are sunk, others upset ; and others again are left untouched and in safety. Onward goes the great flood, but it gets less swift and less furious. In fact, it gradually disappears. Then the scattered boats are picked up. People recover their senses. And women and children go about in the wet and the mud on the banks, looking for things that have been lost in the confusion. Such a scene happens sometimes on the great rivers of China. And it happens on the mighty rivers of America. Sometimes this monster wave will suddenly appear in the most peace- ful moments, and when the heavens are calm and the sun shining. A knot of persons will be standing talking, on the banks of the Seine, and not thinking of any evil. All in a moment a noise is heard, like the muttering of thunder. And a long line of foam is seen in the distance. This line of foam is the mov- ing mass of water coming with the tide. People look at each other in alarm. They know what is going to happen. It is the mascaret. Mascaret is the name of the wall of water. What is the tide-race ? It is quite different to the mascaret, and much more to be dreaded. It only happens in the Tropics. 42 THE TIDE-RACE. The wind dies quite away. There is a dead calm, and the sea looks like a lake of glass. But on the beach, without any seeming cause, great waves begin to dash, and foam, and rush forward, as if driven by a hurricane. The ships are torn from their anchors, and houses are swept away by the fury of the waves. TIDE-RACE OFF BOURBON ISLAND IN 1846. Towns and cities are destroyed, or partly so, if the terrible waves do not retire. The city of Lisbon was nearly swept away, about a hundred years ago, by the tide-race. I must tell you that the tide-race has nothing to do with the tide. It is one of those strange events that nobody can account for. WHAT MAKES THE SEA SHINE? 43 WHAT MAKES THE SEA SHINE? THERE is a very beautiful sight often visible at sea. Perhaps you have seen it, when on a visit to the shore in the autumn. You may have stood on the beach at night, and watched a boat moving backwards and forwards over the waves. Each blow of the oar struck a jet of light out of the water. Some jets were feeble, others vivid, others quite resplendent. The drops of water fell off, from the oars, like a shower of pearls and diamonds. The boat itself left a streak of flashing light behind it as it moved along. Far out at sea, the sight is grander still. Ships appear to sail through an ocean of colour. There are streaks of red, and blue, and crimson. When the vessel moves, there seems to be fire issuing from her sides, and rolling along the water. Sometimes a troop of dolphins are seen playing about among the waves. The effect of the shower of light which falls from their shining scales, is very beautiful indeed. Each drop of water sparkles like a gem. What occasions all this glorious show of light ? The presence of a substance which is widely spread through the regions of Nature. It is found in the sea and on the land. It is called phosphorus. Phosphorus is a deadly poison, and when it is seen by itself, separated from the bodies in which it lives, it looks like a little white stick of a waxy nature. It is so apt to take fire, that it is not safe to meddle with. People who sell it, keep it in water, to prevent accident. When it is taken out of the water it begins to smoke, and after a time to burn. The slightest friction makes it burst out into a flame. If the hand gets burned with phosphorus, the wound is very painful, and not easy to cure. Now, this burning, inflammable substance shines, in the dark, like fire. It is phosphorus which makes the sea shine. 44 WHAT MAKES THE SEA SHINE? THE SHINING SEA. But how came it in the sea ? Because it exists in the bodies of millions of creatures that live in the water. Some of these creatures are so tiny, that you could not see them except through a microscope. But when myriads of them are together, they have a splendid effect. They make streaks and bands of light. Indeed, they seem as if they had set the waves on fire. Besides these tiny beings, almost every other inhabitant of the ocean has more or less phosphorus in its body. The beautiful sea anemone, about which you will hear presently ; the star-fishes ; the soft-bodied animals of various kinds, which abound on WHAT MAKES THE SEA SHINE. 45 every hand ; the shell-fishes, such as crabs and lobsters ; and even the real fishes, help in this midnight illumination. These creatures have the power of giving out light, as the electrical eel gives out electricity. Where does the light come from ? In the sea anemone, the light comes from the arms or feelers, from the zone or belt that girdles the body, and from the stomach. Here is found a sticky kind of liquid, which bathes the organs of the body. The liquid is the seat of the phosphorescence. If you were to mix some of it with water, in a basin, the water would shine, more or less, as the sea does. One of these light-giving creatures was once put into a small portion of milk. The milk became so brilliant, that people could see to read by it as by a lamp. There is a little round ball of jelly that floats in the sea, and is too small to be visible. ^ If it is looked at through a micro- scope, it will be seen to have both a mouth and a stom- ach, and little feel- ers. Inside its body it has tiny points, from which the li^ht ONE OF THE LIGHT - GIVINO CREATURES, SEEN THROUGH THE MICROSCOPE. flashes. The flashes follow each other with such rapidity, that they are like minute flashes of lightning. These creatures have perfect control over the light they give. 46 MINUTE CREATURES IN THE SEA. The least agitation makes them give it out with great brilliancy. This was proved by a naturalist. He skimmed some water from the top of the sea, and filled a vessel with it. The vessel was full of those minute creatures. After the water had settled and was at rest, they ceased to shine, and remained quite still. He then dropped a little acid into the water. The moment the acid reached the little creatures, it threw them into an agitation, and made them shine, and sparkle, like stars dropped from the heavens. There are some small molluscs with two shells. They have such a quantity of phosphorus in their bodies, that when they are eaten (which happens sometimes), the lips of the person who eats them seem to be on fire. The name of the mollusc is Pholas dactylus. You will hear more of it by-and-by. MINUTE CREATURES IN THE SEA. COUNTLESS hosts of tiny creatures live in the sea. They are so tiny that their very existence would have remained a secret, if it had not been for the microscope. The microscope has brought a new world to our sight. A world which is beyond our power of vision, and hidden from us as much as if it were in the clouds. But it is a world full of wonders, and where we find traces, on every hand, of the goodness and the skill of our Creator. The minute creatures, of which I am going to tell you, are so small, that a drop of water contains many millions. A drop of water is to them a complete world. They are called Infusorice. They exist everywhere ; in salt water and in fresh, in hot regions and in cold. The great rivers carry enormous quantities of them to the sea. In a single year, the river Ganges carries down to the ocean a mass of infusorise equal to the size of the largest pyramid ! MINUTE CREATURES IN THE SEA. 47 You perceive that, though the smallest, they are the most numerous creatures in the world. Their bodies are transparent, and all kinds of shapes. Some are like a bell, or a flower, or a thimble, or even a mere grain. The most tiny of all are called monads. They are mere atoms, that spin about in the water. For a long time, people thought that the infusoria was a mere transparent cell, or bag, that was filled with nothing but water. But this has been found out to be a mistake. The creature, so far from being a mere bag, has four distinct stomachs. Indeed, some of its neighbours have as many as four hundred. Four hundred stomachs ! You may imagine how difficult it is to study the habits and the mechanism of beings so tiny. But it has been done, thanks to the micro- scope. I might tell you the names of many clever men who devoted them- selves to this study. Professor Ehrenberg was one of them. I will tell you how he contrived to make his observations. He put a drop of coloured water on a piece of glass. And beside it, he put another drop that had no colour in it at all. Then, with the point of a needle, he made a canal between the two drops. This answered his purpose. By means of the microscope, he saw the tiny creatures pass from the coloured drop to the clear. He could distinguish their stomachs full of colour, and could count them too, through their transparent sides. He amused himself with making the experiment first with red, and then with blue. He saw, also, that the infusoria had fine hairs like antennae. These hairs are called cilia. The cilia move quickly about, and make currents in the water. Tiny atoms (you may think how tiny) are attracted to the mouth of the creature, and drawn in, and swallowed. For it has a mouth as well as a stomach. These minute beings swim merrily about like the fishes, or they creep 48 MINUTE CREATUEES IN THE SEA. like serpents, or they twist themselves in every direction. The little volvox spins round and round on its own axis. They multiply in a variety of ways, some of which are very curious. One creature will divide into two equal parts, each of the parts being the exact image of the parent. So that you have two infusorise instead of one. Others drop 'tiny germs, or, in fact, eggs. You may fancy how tiny such eggs must be ! These germs, in time, begin to grow. Each of them becomes a perfect creature, and whirls about in the sea, as its parent did before it. But would you believe it possible? minute as the infusorise are, there are creatures smaller still, who fasten upon them, and suck the juices of their bodies ! These creatures are infusorige likewise, but they are called parasites, because they feed on others. Some of the parasites have bodies shaped like a tube, and are provided with short suckers, clothed with cilia. Others have round bodies, and possess suckers, but without the cilia. The first of these parasites swims about in