Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 13th May 1854, Edition 1 of 1, Page 450, Untitled Article

Page 450
Page 16
16 of 22

On this page

  • Text (1)

      Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    • Untitled Article

      Untitled Article

  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      part of the work before us gives an account of his labours fenmatdatfaife end , to important to human interests * and is a higttlr ntmtuw efcspter in the history of science . Th * result of lift observing expeditions , conducted under the ninpjitfiwi of Goven »» ettt > , bat earried . oujfc with th « antbiwiasm and conscientiousness of scientific genius , are embodied in no less thaa 105 < £ l * » awl pitas * presented to the Admiralty ; , a&ct subsequently ^ wxtlkJew excep ^ ionv ej » grave < i , and published . After eoameratrng these ctrarta * AcU mStftl Smyth Bj&ys t—

      u Such being the results of 1117 surveys and . re-esjmanatioaa , lam prepared to >* lu * N»—more in confidence than presumptioni . thart . bowaveg » n « &tbaay dUttto » aj fall abort of that fulness in detail and delicacy of finish which none : taw and streag $ n wmijfc hanre enabled us to give them , they are quite « $ na&toeiwj « aeo aaMs reqoiceftteat « £ the . navi < gator ; and generally also to the engineer and the inquiring trawUsr . Bab tha 4 is . a # t all : tlM ¦ iliiril tliin ¦¦¦ ill has floiubhii , ana mymagueyimp besaid to . have bam confcipaed itt *» ta «» irr . Wh >» C ^ ft aia . Oydi DA ^>* afljpatohi > d to tU » XOTMttr two of my officersniioHag wp < t W » Mb ¦ w « e ^ kweiffwiili hiia t wfola Mwimt El * oa and West w « e > making « aa > 'itfiQ 0 ^ e § p « 1 niMtise : savefifend , e » th * aant * station ^ AA lejagtlLiBy- aealoaa tifa »* € aft * t » afc 0 iaTfa ; , . aiii » f Trtsjwiiajt ftwn amarfaaBavTeyage ? to Tiageffsn's Strait nudes Captain . K B . g aur . i »« btdd ahip tft » iiwiai ^ , assumed ; the wnwiM tilto in . the Levant , ami

      moetBuccessfnlly guided an enlarged and efficient astebfisBJMQt fi » many y «* ra , jEJj » « fiectof unanimity and talent has baea tnahr giUrifriaugt jnfajnaeh thafc tkacft « as *] iB& aiatea £ MbBllfe * l *^ m * fet % ilt accaxaejc * and , finish , thi ^ asy < iiatfWlriar naay b » pwC 4 « t MnrttriaJsmg ; th—fc . Altogetberi whatever impeewniftBfrui tfc * s * tf ^; tfi » ta > sn ^ e& 4 ^ Sf « difr ) rranean ohjuttgaf hy •¦» jwwmt « gnn i » ear , « m& aefffQacfctft aa that * recorded ., on pagts-«* toJ 6 <; f—fr jean towy iufeed * w <* fc <* twwKbm ia mertis « tk * 4 ciM * ififtw # » t » of tfcSMSteHMMi » ^'' " ¦ : ¦ ¦• ' ¦ ' '* ^ ai ^ lMC fiorjr o £ tihja writer 8 own lalwuia forma the fatter portion of tie ^ flsfwy hm » w jaaitlioft . k ,. iik tfce fintfc > | & « ce * , because it demomtratea his claim to the gratefud interest of the public in any production h& nav bring ' ' v"ip ^^| i ||^^^|^^^ rdi ( t-i » scietxttficrfl y hnj » rft « nt , as- contain » g < j ^ Ti | i | fa ^ , not too formidable to be read with bo <^ y

      w ^ fto ^ s ^ -tiliA'jBiMclnBK ic ^ panwoifti etumfettefe awV tfKMtttote w&h : sciences asl ^ jui fl ^ j i i ^ c&sara « f wr ^^ Iij ^ me » . of ftctpoavss < ttJfcaslfltapMPk ; TS ^ Hr ^^ MitTOres ^ BaitS " . ^ chjpw > grap oicaj |^ TiBfW 5 . of utt ^ -sl sovQe - ^ v ^^^ BL ^^ Ja ^^ H ^ k ^^^^^^ B ^^ B ^ Ti ^ k ^^ v ^^ HH ^ a ^ flB'Ha ^ aft ^ Bh ' tf ^ k ^ ah- ^ v ^^ al ^^^^ v ^^ fl ^ ah fB ^ tf ^^^ a ^^^^ aa ^ iKsib ^ a ^^ sL ^^ k ^ avav ^^^^ k ^ iaftiihV ^ FBrtB ^— *^ Prf ^ h ^ s ^ l ^^^ a ^ uBSi ^^ H ^^^ s ^ f ^ k ^^ B ^ sii ^^^ B ^^^ h ^ Bh'Vfttf ^ B ^ a ^^^ u ^^^^ k ^™ # vJ ^ K" ^^ aiawBawr ^ BiPBP ^^^ BSji ^^ n ^ p *^^^^^ SMa 5 aajBja > B ^ , ^^* w ^ wa ^ ia .. ^ ^^^^ Wvnjl *^^ WeH 4 saj ^^^^ s 7 B ^ v ^^ 4 aswaaa ^ % v va # ^ p * a ^ raka \; &r >^ k ^^^ H ^ aK ^^ kr ^ ^^••^» ^ rf ^^ a ^ a > « M » Qt ^^ m * x »^ bni f ^^ nMjiM'r t " Tirn f n-Tin ' ffffh ' fi ^—^ ^*^ - > - ^ -f ^^ . ^^ - --. ^¦ ¦^ ij . ^ j ^ ^ 11 M # diterVwetB » withaae < rtio Eonit 8 iehthjologj > a ^ ^ p ^ fll ^ i ^ Mii ^^ The fourth part grvS t ¥ w aiw * nfroC « h ««^ CTeys aMg » n g ^^ & the Mediterra ttnan , airf ^ he fifth aa ^ gpHTtttjen of they ^ on which Admiral Smyth ' * charts h * ye ,, been construci ^ eclt th « wthogirap hy and aoaaeaclatiurfr ado ^ ed ^ the » eo « rap liKal points , or c <> ordi ^^ longitude , and height of tbe HedkcTHnean « h <«^ wtih the -variatioa of , the magnetic needle ami ^ itiMg ^ fitilM ^ ift- ^^ apnfJ ^ iif i > i ^^^ i **>^>^ 'iT i fg an aioount of tbi £ . auth \ ojr ft wjufei-iMttl ^ yB ^ itoifc « K « W roadiato Central Africa . : We wfflwnrgi ^ c the leader aoawe extracts ^ which will serve better io Mts ^ hiak ^ mv ^ e Ae Toioin « than any further comment of oors . ; v i " ^ -- ' ' .-:-- > ' Ig , OOlJnam 4 >^ ZM ) i VJBDtKBa&ixnKAK . ^ 7 ha uaM ^ Ttl a ^^ tl ^ MwrrtwiaiiiCT P >^ bj aecideaial or lool <» ase 9 , u « hrichtand deep blue ; but in the Adriatic ^) a . « reaa tiBe » ia prevalent i in tim Iiaw < ftBMife& . iMiAlMS <« i-. WM « ht « M ' ^ Afr ^ hf » lii »» iW : aftifH > "M' tkt - ^ lirlr aan * rih , £ r ( nn wkich i ^ iaiiMa ila M niw larrfTalkfi ,,-, a Bi » cjay ; -i 1 fcya i > Timtwt » tW uwatgenanJ , and lu » haw ^ 'MaMiaiwsailtr ^ hi ljiiai ^! j lr fcongji -t h »' flB | f 1 jjapit > \* W \ x * s *) c » < £ ttt » watw almost ji » . liiis OMMMiii assort tfaat ia ha * n * « oloi > aft alL Bafc aotwkhttandiag theflnid , wW undafikdltf ipiaaritaai , saan it aawfi yiaailitiaa U U parfee % eokKaW , j « t ia larp imswii —¦ aiiailli aiiiKts tiala laT difcwajt WittMilif That m «> bo hat futtnn ^ r ti fin » VI— euiiiiataAataacftftssntha lana [¦ ¦ a ^ . w ^ ttbeoaitwMHgtfJ s at * tmttw& t * lo 9 *> Wurwai iiatianlnl tb >« ky u . kawq to be a& « Ufti « tiat » -oe coa « der « i aa wluJ ^ r d » e to reflection from the heavens , since it is often of a deeper hae than tbat of the sky , both &osk the interception of solar ligVt fry thr TlTjiittg t inrl thn hnffl rrhinh they themselves take . This is dimcult to account for satisfactorily , as no analysis has yet detected a sufficient quantity of colouring matter to ting * aa imuena * a body of water : wherefore Sir Humphrey Dsyj ' s supppflkion of an admixture pf rodloe cannotlM admitted , for its presence ig barely traotabiB uaiUx ih * Moot careful antfyaist These « iiW oMrtend for there being no colour at all , nwrremnitd us that the blue rays are the most refrangible ; and that being reflected in gnateat aiHsakitr kwtikm ftnii ( whack , iMCNan of Ua daoaiftjr aqi depth » « awses them to ¦ uiMtfyi m . ikmm * nammom \ tlwjt « aus » a tiast which is « al ^ apfaieut . Be tha . t as it maj flMinm admit / if qpawcloaian—namelj » tnafc a green hxm is a general indicatiom of sounds ingfc and lndigo » hlaa p ^ nrofbund 4 cpth . *

      condltiaa of aaiisteiMW ; . but- the pressure of the sea op inanimate-bodie * ,. and at eoiofarativelr no , great depth , is snfficieatly obvious . I hare twice found tbat the cylindrical , copper airtmbet under the vane attached to Mass « y 1 i ingenions patent sounding-lead , was unable to stand ; for it coBapsed at little more tian 200 fethoms * depth m the first instance , and in the second was crushed flat under a pressure of about 300 fathoms . Moreover , a claret bottle filled with air and well corked , burst on its descent to 400 fathoms with the brass Marcet cylinder , and others broke at little more than half that depth . We also found that bottles filled with fresh water—and we evea wasted wine on some occasions—and corked had the cork usually forced in at about from 150 to 180 fathoms below the surface . Iu these eaaes > the fluid ; sent , down is . exadex ^ . and tha v « ssel retoraad full of sear-water * the cork whiott had been forced in is eometuneavinYerted within th * aack of thft bottla . "

      VRaMH ^ iv ^ isaii SwaEKOS -y ^ y / t ,. * ' iVeafa * pM « cmriaga « xiat ior Iheaea ,, near the shore , which are more or less copioos accordinK ta cixeumatuaces ^ bat tkose of Slamfane rod : and * Syracuse are popularly hekt tor pjweeett from tb » Alpheios by sn ^ maxin * coaununicatSoa . la tke-Chtlf of Spezria there iax a spring wttcfrcontsuril f diseha *^ e » a ^ erjr coasiderablo body ti watsr , riattg with unfit ibw » la » ta > pr ^ w » agli |^ « oorwrity oav the suffice ; th « okraam ie prtWWj dtrived firan a ajWaiaiaf < awcr 1— jpHmgWM the nsjghbwBring , Uaeatona rocks , hut its pface , as marked oasjavrflM ^ fWt ' th * : gulf ^ haa beeA iBunemoriaU ^ f £ » aHae . In the Mare picoato , or great port . it- TwaatO i and at seme , dibtance from the mouth of the Galesaa , fresh water springs Up in 8 U 4 & force and ahundsnee tliat it may be taken op without the least brackish mixtil it- ami lli Hf"fc » 8 w TaVnalll nTTknit at . Ctoktm ( h « m > t « a Jmh « n « k oallaui » ka A mtumrn * fmai

      whiob rasbas : o » a doVinaa ; af petabfe water , with aueh fibtce as em to nake wavea . Ne « r Bagmaa , tha Sabmasa Chmnart canmatea fa the port called Val d'Ofttbla , which is watered hy ; th * Ariaaay asabJaryaaman riro * bijrating up with antaztqg volume and force from the loot of M ^ iH B erratz | fiesh-water spring * are also copious in tbe Gulfs of Oattaro and Avtona . At Agyo Jama , below PBTga , between the months of the Acheron and Tbyamis , as « circular space of freak water , a £ oat forty feet in diameter , rising through the sea witb great actmljr ; tate i ^ avobablj the aaoending spring alluded to by Paosanias ( Arcad . vik ) . Off tba littkrdcaect islet , JBoad near Tortosa , on the coast of Syria , a spring of fresh wator goaJiea up in to * m » tin such rolanae that it may be skimmed off without the slightest impregnation , of salt . ' You may draw up potable water , ' says Pliny , ' out of the sea about th « Chelidoniae Islands and at Al-adus ; and there must Jbo many unrecorded jets of the same nature , mfngfi&g -with the sea unnoticed . "

      PRESSURE BOBNB BT MARINTC OBOAWISMS . " At 16 fathoms , a living creature would have to sustain only about 60 pounds to the square- taea , aad at 60 fathoms as much as 180 pounds . At 100 fcthoms d « pbh the pressure wouM aaaoanfc t * 286 pounds , and at 700 fathoms the creature must bear witli iaqpunity a <|« ao . ti ^ r « vul to L 8 S 0 pounds upon the square inch ; while the pressure of 1000 faiboms of sanerincaiabent water ou tha aame area considerably exceeds a ton . Now , I have drawn up star-fish alire through 170 fathoms , but since then Professor E . Forbes has nearly doubled tbat depth with success ; and I understand that M . Biot has made captures from still deeper water—his own expression being , that they existed , * dans les t / rundea j > ro fondeurs des mer $ . ' Of courae these arrimala are properly fitted fur such , aa extraordinary

      " Tboagh tnany of the moat tsaiaU « speciea * f fcafe a » abnndani in th » lMitwrane « n t the onarantioe regalatioaa * arbiti » ry esaefaoju ^ aad , deficient enterprise of most orf the people who inhabit the coasts , have combined to prevent Ihe fisheries erom being carried to the desired extent as an object of external commerce , most of the produce being consumed at bostev Fromtthis , howerer , we must except the tunny , the sword-fish , the anehovy , and the- sprat , tsav ettpture aad curing of which are carried oa with grass spirit ; whll » the- coral fiabjSBmimntaumipoirUnt branch of industry tboo ^ i oftejgt far from being highly remunerata ^ e . In . an economic , view of tha central paxts ^ o £ thia sea , perhaps , tba tunny is the ; most important fsh ; and I have already deaciibea the method of taking : it , and other particulars , m my accounts , of Sicily and . SardinJa . I also alluded to the . migratory visits of this fish havmg ; become more capricious oflateiriian ftrmerlrv insomttch that sometimes the produce ofrthtf foMMM * barely-repay * th *> exp « n « es « f thftv estahMshmeat ; This may arise , from aqriflsntaJk oeatractwafr to their ecnrstt » a foiiit ouwlfcfchthejr ar ^ eaid to be very sensitive ; aaii tha » am extrtmely epMsariotts-. T 3 i » shoal entoem th » MediterraBean from the ocean in

      springy passes ak > ag the Eotopean shores into the Black Sea ^ where they are supposed to snaWB t and returns along the African snore to the ocean in the / alt of the year . But in the Back Sea fr has been noted to enter along th * coast of Asia , and return along that of Europe 7 apeeuHarity which Pnay , fbftswing Aristotle , acmunta foe by aupjaanigtiicfish to see better with the right eye than vrith the left ^ The ; more natiwal opinion , is , that , the prevailing triads -are the canae , those . of anmmer being chiefly from , the south , and those of t& * lattf seasons . from the aortii ; the fish , therefore , may be presumed to prefer the smooth water undac tha > weather shore . This is not said to impugn the merit of those writers . f 6 r thay ~> toge ( h « r with Arcbestratus , ^ lian , Om , Opyjan ^ Isodonia ^ Athenaeua , and Assooins -p . haora reeerSeA qipfyp ^ yn ^ mn ^ T "»^* ffti ?» c * M in « fr fffilW" facts relatweto tne customs and instincts , of Hedltenanfa ^ fishes ^ thatewe aimost overlook their neglect of specific difie . rence *^ Eeoem inquiry has , indeed , coafirmed the truth of many of tteir statements which had , far agwk ^ aea si iyirwttod as , fabolona . ** But iMgong ^ att , laqairiea into : nuxwe , aoology , none ean claim , a footing on the same plin > h wltk . Amtetimi th » generalisa 4 , ion » a £ . whose admirahW research ** ( repi &w hrropiayfa : these waters , rtmaiato tbis hoar ueahftken . "

      THB OOJfPAZAJCT * " J ^ fjax&teaace of tk » cursory allQaaoal have made to the pro » abilitjr of ebctric agency a * 4 si » ajina » i . < f . > watar * aaaBts > t . the > rtsder may be . reinindfld that thtrft is & rapid and profuse e ^ olntlojK ^ e ^ Btiia ^ ut m th ^ pzocesat of evaporation . The presence of a surcharge of . this fluid is , e » Ub 1 i « hed by tJift' ^ raaAieeqveatr of noiseleas she ^ ughtiung over the surface of die waters ^ and also , by the apfearance : anj ; pjby of that lambent nam « about the mast-heads of ships , known to seamen as the compazant ( a corruption of Corpo { Saoto ) . It was the OiMcuiiof classic tjmes , and its remykahla . appearance is . oofioed by CaBsar ° ( X ><} BeGo AfrictmQ ) % on which occaaionit settled , oa the points of the spears belonging , to the fifth lea / oBm , TWs haemkas meteor is alaa hailed iu the Medtterranean with the appellatiba of the fire of Sant Elmo , or San Pietro and San Niccolo ; in either case ander flinoilar . Botions

      to those wbiea tnsnued \ o » asctents on . the appearance of their Castor and iPoVos * It « a beautiiul meteor wikh usoally occurs at the close of squally weather , and in nights of ini te ^» dackBesA ; it reveals itself as a pale blaze of jhospbojtic l « ht » hanging ott the trucks UvtiMbfiB ^ uv ^ f asea-medasa ^ to a depth of two or three feet down the mast ,, with gentle ncintfllujtiBg fititangs sa « h a& might b * represented in shaking a luge , jelly . Itsduratioa . vackaf ^ pa , ficre or sis rainates to nearly a quarter of an h « ur in . vigour , when it gradually I dieaoft ^ and , Is geaeraUy succeeded by fine weather ; nor is this , so much m . matter of marv « I aa tii « aatiie jpU « ts . wish it to be thoa ^ it , for if the compasaok is the effect of a mild or I diluted elecfenc fluid , it is but natural that the storm which is . caused by the aame should ' cease when the electricity becomes no longer visible in its dazzling state * These luminous ^ appearances are esteemed ominous when a single one is seen fleeting down the masts ; and this must lie the inauspicious flame pointed out by Falconer , who , both a seaman and a poet « tarnsifeowB it : —

      " ' High on thennsts with pale and Itvid rays , Amid tbe gloom , portentous meteors blaze . ' " Ages , however , before Falconer ' s time , Pliny ( Nat . Hist ., lib . u . cap . xxxvii ) had deseribed-thesa lambent stars , and his description is thus rendered by Philemon Holland *—" ' I ban seene myself * in the camps , from the soldiers sentinels in tbe night watch , the resemblance . of lightning ta stick fast upon the raeares and pikes set before the rampier . They settle also upon the croese sail yards aad other parts of the skip , as mem do sattt ia tbe seaj making a land of vocan sound , leaping to and froj , and shifting theor places as birds d » which fly from bough to bough . Dangerous , they be and unlucky when they come one by one withoot a companion ; and they drown those ships on which they light , and threaten sinpwraek , yea , and they set them on fire if haply they fall upon the bottome fit the keale

      (« t m eartnm tmOj should have been rmufereet * m her A » Jtr > Bet if they appear two and two together ,, they bring comfort with them , and foretell a prosperous coarse tn the voiage , as by wboa » eonaag , thty sayy that dreadfull , emsed , and tbreattatog meteor called Helena ( the single one ^ m ebaaed , and driven away . Aad hereupon it is that men assigns this miirhty pawer to Castor and Pollux , and invocate them at sea no lease than gods . ' n These , as well a » tlie singular balls of electric fire sometimes seen gliding ; on the surface of the sea , are classed as . glow discharges , in contradistinction to tbe violent form of bebtaing called the disruptiv * discharge . The fire-balls are mtsohieroua ( see the Philosophical lYmmttciians , 1750 , for tbe Montague ' s case ) , but tbe cempaaant is deemed harmless . Even now , when there are two or more , for they are not nnfreouently at each masthead , they are hailed with great pleasure both by the local and foreign seamen ; more especially when they , remain stationary for sometime , and then gradually disappear . So favourable a representation of the elegant Ariel was not lost by tbe master-mini of Shakspere ( Tempest , aet 1 , scene 2 ) , who , recognising tbe then popalar notions of the ' Fire Spirits * of the storm , makes the attire sprite say to Prospero : — " I boarded the king's ship ; now oa the beak , Now in the waist , the deck , ia every cabin , I flam'd amazement : sometimes , I'd divide , And barn in manj places ; on the topmast , The yards and bowsprit , would I flamo diatinctly . ' " 8 CIROCCO-DUST . " In my account of Sicily and its Islands , I montioned that on the 14 th of March , 1814 , on a warm hazy day , thermometer 63 £ degs ., and barometer 29 ' 43 inches , it rained in large muddy drops , which deposited a very minute sand , of a yeHW red colour . Since this r *^ . was published , similar duat rain , blood-rain , or sciroeco-d'ust has attracted philosophical inquiry ; and the crowning of the beautiful theory of atmospheric circulation only awaits the obtaining and examination of additional samples . By the zealous exertions of Professor Ehrenberg , Die revoalmont of truly wondrous and invisible workiug and vitality in myriads of Infusoria pervading the atmosphere , has followed the microscopic scrutiny of this dust . Among the organisms , the Professor has recognised polyRastrica , phytolitharia , and many varieties of siliceous-shelled infusoria , which minimnm types of we constitute , perhaps , large a proportion as one-fifth of th « whole quantity examined . What cyclical relation these creatures have in regard to different atmospheric strata , still remains for continued inquiry j but it is ascertained that they float in the air together with masses of nx * terrestrial matter , as flint-earths , chalks , and ferruginous oxides I "

      Untitled Article

      451 * THLK LEADER . [ Saturday

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 13, 1854, page 450, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2038/page/16/