[Illustration: ARCTIC SLEDGE-JOURNEY.]
THE SEA
AND
ITS LIVING WONDERS
A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF
THE MARVELS OF THE DEEP
AND OF THE
PROGRESS OF MARITIME DISCOVERY FROM THE
EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME
BY
DR. G. HARTWIG
AUTHOR OF "THE TROPICAL WORLD" "THE HARMONIES OF NATURE"
"THE POLAR WORLD" AND "THE SUBTERRANEAN WORLD"
SEVENTH EDITION
_WITH NUMEROUS WOODCUTS AND PLATES_
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16^{th} STREET
1892
NOTICE
_The right of translation into French is reserved by the Author. All
necessary steps for securing the Copyright have been taken._
PREFACE
TO
THE THIRD AND FOURTH EDITIONS.
Nothing can be more agreeable to an author anxious to merit the suffrages
of the public, than the opportunity afforded him, by a new edition, of
correcting past errors or adding improvements to his work. Should any
one of my readers think it worth his while to compare 'The Sea,' such
as it now is, with what it formerly was, I have no doubt he will do me
the justice to say that I have conscientiously striven to deserve his
approbation.
Two new chapters--one on Marine Constructions, the other on Marine
Caves--have been added; those on the Molluscs and Cœlenterata
(Jelly-fishes, Polyps) almost entirely re-written; and those on Fishes,
Crustaceans, Microscopic Animals, the Geographical Distribution of Marine
Life, and the Phosphorescence of the Sea, considerably enlarged; not to
mention a number of minor improvements dispersed throughout the volume.
Great attention has also been paid to the Illustrations, many of
questionable value having been omitted in the present edition, to make
room for a number of others, which will be found of great use for the
better understanding of the text.
In one word, I have done my best to raise my work to the standard of the
actual state of science, and to render it, as far as my humble abilities
go, a complete epitome of all that the _general_ reader _cares_ to know
about the marvels of the deep.
G. Hartwig.
Salon Villas, Ludwigsburg:
_June 30, 1873_.
PREFACE
TO
THE FIRST TWO EDITIONS.
For years my daily walks have been upon the beach, and I have learnt to
love the ocean as the Swiss mountaineer loves his native Alps, or the
Highlander the heath-covered hills of Caledonia. May these feelings have
imparted some warmth to the following pages, and serve to render the
reader more indulgent to their faults!
G. Hartwig.
Göttingen: _July 17, 1860_.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SEA.
CHAPTER I.
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SEA.
Extent of the Ocean.--Length of its Coast-Line.--Mural, Rocky,
and Flat Coasts.--How deep is the Sea?--Average Depth of the
Atlantic Ocean.--The Telegraphic Plateau between Newfoundland and
Ireland.--Measurement of Depth by the Rapidity of the Tide-Wave.
--Progressive Changes in the Limits of the Ocean.--Alluvial
Deposits.--Upheaving.--Subsidence.--Does the Level of the Sea
remain unchanged, and is it everywhere the same?--Composition and
Temperature of Sea-Water.--Its intrinsic Colour.--The Azure Grotto
at Capri.--Modification of Colour owing to Animals and Plants.
--Submarine Landscapes viewed through the Clear Waters Page 3
CHAPTER II.
THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN.
Waves and the Mode of their Formation.--Height and Velocity of
Storm-Waves, on the High Seas, according to the Calculations of
Scoresby, Arago, Sir James Ross, and Wilkes.--Their Height and Power
on Coasts.--Their Destructive Effects along the British Shore.--
Dunwich.--Reculver.--Shakspeare's Cliff. 24
CHAPTER III.
THE TIDES.
Description of the Phenomenon.--Devastation of Storm-Floods on Flat
Coasts.--What did the Ancients know of the Tides?--Their Fundamental
Causes revealed by Kepler and Newton.--Development of their Theory by
La Place, Euler, and Whewell.--Vortices caused by the Tides.--The
Maelstrom.--Charybdis.--The _Barre_ at the mouth of the Seine.--The
Euripus 32
CHAPTER IV.
MARINE CAVES.
Effects of the Sea on Rocky Shores.--Fingal's Cave.--Beautiful Lines
of Sir Walter Scott.--The Antro di Nettuno.--The Cave of Hunga.--
Legend of its Discovery.--Marine Fountains.--The Skerries.--The
Souffleur in Mauritius.--The Buffadero on the Mexican Coast 45
CHAPTER V.
OCEAN CURRENTS.
Causes of the Oceanic Currents.--The Equatorial Stream.--The Gulf
Stream.--Its Influence on the Climate of the West European Coasts.
--The Cold Peruvian Stream.--The Japanese Stream 54
CHAPTER VI.
THE AËRIAL AND TERRESTRIAL MIGRATIONS OF THE WATERS.
Movements of the Waters through Evaporation.--Origin of Winds.--
Trade-Winds.--Calms.--Monsoons.--Typhoons.--Tornadoes.--Water-Spouts.
--The Formation of Atmospherical Precipitations.--Dew.--Its Origin.
--Fog.--Clouds.--Rain.--Snow.--Hail.--Sources.--The Quantities of
Water which the Rivers pour into the Ocean.--Glaciers and their
Progress.--Icebergs.--Erratic Blocks.--Influence of Forests on the
Formation and Retention of Atmospherical Precipitations.--
Consequences of their excessive Destruction.--The Power of Man over
Climate.--How has it been used as yet? 65
CHAPTER VII.
MARINE CONSTRUCTIONS.
Lighthouses.--The Eddystone.--Winstanley's Lighthouse, 1696.--The
Storm of 1703.--Rudyerd's Lighthouse destroyed by Fire in 1755.--
Singular Death of one of the Lighthouse Men.--Anecdote of Louis XIV.
--Smeaton.--Bell Rock Lighthouse.--History of the Erection of
Skerryvore Lighthouse.--Illumination of Lighthouses.--The Breakwater
at Cherbourg.--Liverpool Docks.--The Tubular Bridge over the Menai
Straits.--The Sub-oceanic Mine of Botallack. 80
PART II.
THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA.