The geological clock may, thought I, strike new periods; its hands may point to era after era; but so long as the ocean remains in its basin, so long as its bottom is covered with blue water, so long must the deep furrows and strong contrasts in the solid crust below stand out raggedly and boldly rugged. Nothing can fill up the hollows there; no agent now at work, that we know of, can descend into its depths and level off the floors of the sea.

But it now seems that we forgot these oceans of animalculæ that make the surface of the sea sparkle and glow with life. They are secreting from its surface solid matter, for the very purpose of filling up those cavities below.

These little marine insects are building their habitations at the surface; and when they die, their remains, in vast multitudes, sink down, and settle upon the bottom. They are the atoms out of which mountains are formed-plains spread out. Our marlbeds, the clay in our river bottoms, large portions of many of the great basins of the earth, are composed of the remains of just such little creatures as these, which the ingenuity of Brooke and the industry of Berryman have enabled us to fish from the depth of more than two miles below the sea-level.

These foraminifera, therefore, when living, may have been preparing the ingredients for the fruitful soil of a land that some earthquake or upheaval, in ages far away in the future, may be sent to cast up from the bottom of the sea.

The study of these 'sunless treasures,' recovered with so much ingenuity from the rich bottom of the sea, suggests new views concerning the physical economy of the ocean.'

Such are the views entertained by Lieut. Maury of the United States Navy, in charge of the National Observatory at Washington. The commerce of the world is indebted to this distinguished gentleman. Nations enjoy the blessings resulting from his learned discoveries. The field of his labor is boundless, and his zeal and eminent talents are bringing forth fruits to bless the age.

The laying of a cable across the briny deep has been to many, even some who are prominently engaged in telegraphing, deemed wild, and a fruitless theme of reflection. From the moment we ascertained that a bottom of the ocean had been found, we felt confident of the practicability of laying a telegraph cable from America to Europe. If a twine string can stand the power of the cross-currents of the ocean, and let to the bottom a cannonball of sixty-four pounds, and then raise a tube filled with the shells and earth of the ocean bottom, we are confident that a cable of strength could be stretched from land to land. We conclude this article by giving a letter recently written to the Secretary of the Navy by Lieut. Maury, relative to an ocean

telegraph, and we rejoice to see that in questions of science he is not afraid to give his opinion.

SIR-The United States brig 'Dolphin,' Lieutenant Commanding O. H. Berryman, was employed last summer upon special service connected with the researches that are carried on at this office concerning the winds and currents of the sea.

Her observations were confined principally to that part of the ocean which the merchantmen, as they pass to and fro upon the business of trade between Europe and the United States, use as their great thoroughfare.

Lieutenant Berryman availed himself of this opportunity to carry along also a line of deep-sea soundings from the shores of Newfoundland to those of Ireland.

The result is highly interesting, as it bears directly, in so far as the bottom of the sea is concerned, upon the question of a submarine telegraph across the Atlantic, and I therefore beg leave to make it the subject of a special report.

This line of deep-sea soundings seems to be decisive of the question as to the practicability of a submarine telegraph between the two continents, in so far as the bottom of the deep sea is

concerned.

From Newfoundland to Ireland, the distance between the nearest points is about 1,600 miles;* and the bottom of the sea between the two places is a plateau, which seems to have been placed there especially for the purpose of holding the wires of a submarine telegraph, and of keeping them out of harm's way. It is neither too deep nor too shallow; yet it is so deep that the wires, but once landed, will remain forever beyond the reach of vessels' anchors, icebergs, and drifts of any kind; and so shallow that the wires may be readily lodged upon the bottom.

The depth of this plateau is quite regular, gradually increasing from the shores of Newfoundland to the depth of from 1,500 to 2,000 fathoms as you approach the other side.

The distance between Ireland and Cape St. Charles, or Cape St. Lewis, in Labrador, is somewhat less than the distance from any point of Ireland to the nearest point of Newfoundland.

But whether it would be better to lead the wires from Newfoundland or Labrador, is not now the question; nor do I pretend to consider the question as to the possibility of finding a time calm enough, the sea smooth enough, a wire long enough, a ship big enough, to lay a coil of wire 1,600 miles in length;

*From Cape Freels, Newfoundland, to Erris Head, Ireland, the distance is 1,611 miles; from Cape Charles, or Cape St. Lewis, Labrador, to ditto, the distance is 1,601 miles.

though I have no fear but that the enterprise and ingenuity of the age, whenever called on with these problems, will be ready with a satisfactory and practical solution of them.

I simply address myself at this time to the question in so far as the bottom of the sea is concerned; and as far as that, the greatest practical difficulties will, I apprehend, be found after reaching soundings at either end of the line, and not in the deep

sea.

I submit herewith a chart, showing the depth of the Atlantic according to the deep-sea soundings, made from time to time, on board of vessels of the navy, by authority of the department, and according to instructions issued by the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography. This chart is plate XIV. of the sixth edition of Maury's Sailing Directions.

By an examination of it, it will be perceived that we have acquired, by these simple means, a pretty good idea as to the depression below the sea-level of that portion of the solid crust of our planet which underlies the Atlantic Ocean, and constitutes the basin that holds its waters.

A wire laid across from either of the above-named places on this side, will pass to the north of the Grand Banks, and rest on that beautiful plateau to which I have alluded, and where the waters of the sea appear to be as quiet and as completely at rest as it is at the bottom of a mill-pond.

It is proper that the reasons should be stated for the inference that there are no perceptible currents, and no abrading agents at work at the bottom of the sea upon this telegraphic plateau.

I derive this inference from a study of a physical fact, which I little deemed, when I sought it, had any such bearings.

It is unnecessary to speak on this occasion of the germs which physical facts, even apparently the most trifling, are often found to contain.

Lieut. Berryman brought up, with Brooke's deep-sea sounding apparatus, specimens of the bottom from this plateau.

I sent them to Prof. Bailey, of West Point, for examination under his microscope. This he kindly gave, and that eminent microscopist was quite as much surprised to find, as I was to learn, that all these specimens of deep-sea soundings are filled with microscopic shells; to use his own words, 'not a particle of sand or gravel exists in them.'

These little shells, therefore, suggest the fact, that there are no currents at the bottom of the sea whence they came-that Brooke's lead found them where they were deposited in their burial-place after having lived and died on the surface, and by gradually sinking, were lodged on the bottom.

Had there been currents at the bottom, these would have

swept and abraded, and mingled up with these microscopic remains the debris of the bottom of the sea, such as oaze, sand, gravel, and other matter; but not a particle of sand or gravel was found among them. Hence the inference that these depths of the sea are not disturbed either by waves or currents.

Consequently, a telegraphic wire once laid there, there it would remain, as completely beyond the reach of accident as it would be if buried in air-tight cases. Therefore, so far as the bottom of the deep sea between Newfoundland, or the North Cape, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and Ireland, is concerned, the practicability of a submarine telegraph across the Atlantic is proved.

The present state of Europe invests the subject of a line of telegraphic wires across the Atlantic with a high degree of interest to the government and people of the United States. A general European war seems now almost inevitable; the attitude which this government will assume with regard to all the belligerent powers that may be involved in that war is that of strict, impartial neutrality.

The better to enable this government to maintain that position, and the people of the United States to avail themselves of all the advantages of such a position, a line of daily telegraphic communication with Europe would be of incalculable ser

vice.

In this view of the subject, and for the purpose of hastening the completion of such a line, I take the liberty of suggesting for your consideration the propriety of an offer from the proper source of a prize to the company through whose telegraphic wire the first message shall be passed across the At lantic.

Art. III.—TELEGRAPHS IN EUROPE AND AFRICA.

SUBTERRANEAN LINES-SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHS IN FRANCE, BELGIUM, DENMARK, HOLLAND, PRUSSIA, RUSSIA-ACROSS THE MEDITERRA

NEAN SEA TO CORSICA, SARDINIA, ALGERIA, EGYPT.

EVERY person connected with the Electric Telegraph feels a great interest in the extension of that enterprise, and none more than the American Telegrapher, who wishes to be fully informed on a subject the means by which he makes his daily bread. There is a great difference between the art of Telegraphing in the American and that of the Eastern Continent. The most of the lines there use a modified system of the Morse Telegraph, whether for better or worse, we do not at this time desire to say. In future numbers we hope to give full and detailed descriptions of all the Electric Telegraphs in use, and the illustrations will tend to strengthen confidence in the American marking, writing, or printing telegraphs. Many of the lines on the Eastern Continent are subterranean, and excel the American system. In the January number we published a short article on subterranean lines, but since then we have received much intelligence relative to the modes of laying lines, and we must confess, that with the present information, the practicability of subterranean lines seems to be unquestionable, even over the most sparsely settled and uneven country.

America is in advance of Europe in the art of telegraphing, as a science, but the latter has excelled us in the construction of lines not only on land, but in water. In saying this, we do not mean that in every detail their lines are superior, but as a system of construction, the lines of Europe are very far in advance of our mode. We hope to be able to present at an early day a detailed account of the manner of building the lines, the quality of wire, posts, insulators, and the arrangement of connections. All these are essential elements in telegraphing, and if we can be benefited by the experience of the telegraphs of the East, we would do well to avail ourselves of their excellence; and, at the same time, we think the European lines would do well to abandon their semiphores and adopt the American telegraph.

For the information of our readers, we cut the following from the London Chronicle of February 6th, which indicates the rapid strides the electric telegraph is destined to make in the old world:

"It is a fortunate thing for commerce and the intercourse of communities that the electric wires have been found even more indispensable to governments than to the children of govern