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Show SOUNDING DEPTHS OF SEA. I GOVERNMENT HAS LEARNED SECRETS SE-CRETS OF OCEAN BED. Wonderful Apparatus by Whjjh a Depth of Six Miles Has Deen Uncovered Un-covered by the Prying Eyes of the Scientist. Tho ocennogmphur knows tho floor of tho sea today almost ns thoroughly thorough-ly ns tho gcorgrnpher knows tho con figuration of tho land, but not moro than 35 years ago It wns believed by even somo men of science that thcro were places In tho ocean nhyss that were fathomless. Nnvlgators a few years ago solemnly assured credulous landlubbers thnt they know tho location loca-tion of certain holes that never could bo sounded, becnuso tbey were bottomless, bottom-less, Thero are tremendous deeps, but tho greatest that n ship properly equipped with sounding apparatus lias ever passed over, has been found nnd recorded by nn Infntllblo method. Tho ship was tho United Stntes Btcnm collier Nero, and It wns Incidental Inciden-tal to a thorough exploration of tho Pacific, for n tratmpacina cnhlo that alio picked up a few handfuls of the remotest bottom, 76 miles oast-southeast of tho Island of (lunm, six yenrs ago. Tho spot wns chrUtonod tho "Nero Deep" nnd no sounding rod has over gono further Into any ocoan. Tho depth wns 0.2C.9 fathoms, or only GO feol loss thnn six statuto miles. Tho peak of tho highest mountain on earth Is not so tnll, Tho work of tho Nero probably never has been equaled by any other vessel surveying for a cable routo. Incidental to tho soundings tho naturalist natur-alist of the ship collected much material ma-terial relating to tho chnrnctur of tho bottom, adding something to tho great stock of knowledge already Acquired. Ac-quired. The Nero madn soundings every ton miles over n xlgtng course of 2l,CI0.b nntulcal miles. Tho ox. ploratlon practically covered a sea Vtertefterte6erteile6eAeiSeAeAA torrltory 14 miles wldo nnd 6,000 miles H long, nnd for thorougncss has Dovor been excelled. Thu pressure at six miles below tho H Btirfaco Is about five tons to tho square H Inch, which tho tissues of the dcop H sea animals uro formed to . r.c8fBt. H Soma of them nre so, soft that they dls- H Integrate when thoy are hauled Into H tho nlr, All rornu up dead. Tho'BUd- H don nnd enormous decrease of 'tho H pressure as thoy ascend nnd tho hn- H merslnn In a temperature of- HO lo H grces from n temperature tif 33 ilo. H grees Ib enough to destroy any sort ol H nnlmal life. H Thu first nccurnto knowledge ol ' H deep sea conditions nnd llfo was ob H tulnod by tho oxpcrtB of the famoun H Challenger expedition around the 'H world, hughmlng In 1872 and 'rustlna H about four ycaro. Even tjiu Chnl' .H longer, which Bounded great depths . rTH and brought up many new animals ' ssIh and specimens from tho ocean lloor, -VslH used the old-fashioned and unrellabta H rope sounding apparatus Sir William ,H Thomson, who duvlsed tho machlno H for sounding with piano wire, had ono LH put aboard tho Challenger, but tho' slH llrltlsh coiiRorvatlsm of tho explorers ,H mndo them stick to tho ropo which ,'H served them well rather than exporl- H ment with now fnnglod things. So H Sir William's device was consigned to H tho storeroom. Rj Tho United States navy nnd const H survey profiled by Sir William's Invon- EM Hon, however. It wns only a few H months nftor thev Challenger cxpedl- H ttnn had started thnt Cnpt. George E. H llelknnp, of tho navy, In tho stonmor H Tuscnrora, fitted tip for sounding for ft H submarine cablo from California to H Jnpan, took ono of the wire ranchlnos H along. Ho used It by attaching tho H wire to his own improved apparatus. H It Is Cnpt Ilolknnp'a sounding ma- H chine, perfected by thon Lloutenant H Commander C. D. Slgabou, that Is H now In uso on tho most famous and H completo of nil son searching vessels, H tho Albatross of tho United Rtntos H fish commission. ,H This machlno Is horo illustrated. Tho, !H globular part Is tho sinker or shot, H which Is detached by tho Impact of tho 'H rod running through it against tho H bottom or by tho slacking of tho H sounding wlro. Tho wolght of tho 'H shot, Including tho thormomotor, Is H about 70 pounds. When tho project- H Ing tKittom of tho rod Is forced by the -H wolght of tho shot Into tho son floor It ''ixeH lifts n vnlvo and fills tho cyllndor with gggfl specimen soil, Tho shot Is detached - jH automatically. When the rod begins ftkH to nscend tho valves aro closed and gilH tho contents of tho rod are protected 'aixeH from wash. VmSH 6AeAeAeAeAaAAAaAaAAA 1 ISlllH |