﻿THE 
  SEA 
  AS 
  A 
  STOREHOUSE— 
  ARMSTRONG 
  147 
  

  

  be 
  present 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  1 
  part 
  in 
  1 
  billion 
  (1 
  mg. 
  per 
  cubic 
  meter), 
  

   but 
  the 
  Haber 
  expedition 
  found 
  very 
  much 
  smaller 
  amounts 
  — 
  often 
  

   none. 
  Gold 
  has 
  actually 
  been 
  extracted 
  from 
  the 
  sea 
  during 
  a 
  month's 
  

   working 
  at 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  bromine 
  plants, 
  but 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  doing 
  so 
  

   was 
  several 
  times 
  more 
  than 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  gold 
  and 
  it 
  would 
  appear 
  

   that 
  it 
  will 
  always 
  be 
  cheaper 
  to 
  mine 
  gold 
  in 
  South 
  Africa 
  and 
  else- 
  

   where 
  even 
  when 
  the 
  present 
  mines 
  are 
  exhausted 
  and 
  the 
  reefs 
  have 
  to 
  

   be 
  followed 
  deeper 
  into 
  the 
  earth 
  at 
  an 
  increased 
  cost 
  of 
  production. 
  

  

  Gold 
  is 
  probably 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  elements 
  which 
  does 
  not 
  stay 
  in 
  the 
  

   sea, 
  but 
  is 
  being 
  removed 
  by 
  absorption 
  onto 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  organisms 
  

   and 
  taken 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  bottom. 
  In 
  agreement 
  with 
  this 
  the 
  bottom 
  

   sludges 
  obtained 
  by 
  dredging 
  in 
  certain 
  localities 
  contain 
  very 
  much 
  

   larger 
  quantities 
  of 
  gold 
  than 
  there 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  sea. 
  Indeed, 
  the 
  amount 
  

   is 
  most 
  variable; 
  estimates 
  in 
  the 
  literature 
  vary 
  from 
  23 
  to 
  1,200 
  

   tons 
  of 
  gold 
  in 
  1 
  cubic 
  mile 
  of 
  sea. 
  

  

  One 
  may 
  perhaps 
  answer 
  this 
  interesting 
  question 
  by 
  saying 
  that 
  

   gold 
  will 
  continue 
  to 
  be 
  mined 
  rather 
  than 
  won 
  from 
  the 
  sea, 
  particu- 
  

   larly 
  since 
  it 
  has 
  few 
  uses 
  other 
  than 
  as 
  a 
  financial 
  token. 
  

  

  IODINE 
  

  

  An 
  element 
  of 
  universal 
  distribution 
  in 
  air, 
  sea, 
  and 
  land 
  is 
  iodine 
  

   which 
  is 
  of 
  fundamental 
  importance 
  alike 
  to 
  man, 
  animals, 
  and 
  plants. 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  constituent 
  of 
  the 
  thyroid 
  gland 
  and 
  if 
  we 
  lack 
  it 
  in 
  sufficient 
  

   quantity 
  we 
  are 
  afflicted 
  by 
  goitre. 
  Many 
  marine 
  plants 
  have 
  the 
  

   power 
  of 
  concentrating 
  it, 
  thus 
  the 
  dry 
  matter 
  of 
  deep-water 
  sea- 
  

   weed, 
  such 
  as 
  Laminaria, 
  contains 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  0.5 
  percent. 
  Iodine 
  was 
  

   in 
  fact 
  first 
  discovered 
  by 
  Courtois 
  in 
  1811 
  in 
  the 
  ash 
  of 
  sea 
  kelp. 
  

   Kelp, 
  or 
  Varech 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  called 
  in 
  France, 
  has 
  been 
  used 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  

   for 
  the 
  commercial 
  extraction 
  of 
  iodine 
  even 
  though 
  this 
  practice 
  

   cannot 
  compete 
  economically 
  with 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  iodate 
  from 
  the 
  

   caliche 
  in 
  Chile. 
  Certain 
  coral 
  species 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  contain 
  up 
  to 
  8 
  

   percent 
  of 
  iodine 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  of 
  interest 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  present 
  both 
  here 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  bath 
  sponge 
  in 
  the 
  organic 
  state 
  as 
  di-iodo-tyrosine. 
  

  

  The 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  iodine 
  in 
  the 
  sea 
  is 
  still 
  indefinite 
  : 
  it 
  

   may 
  well 
  be 
  organic. 
  The 
  sea 
  contains 
  0.001 
  percent 
  and 
  is 
  much 
  

   richer 
  in 
  this 
  rarest 
  of 
  the 
  halogens 
  than 
  the 
  land. 
  It 
  is 
  obviously 
  

   in 
  a 
  continual 
  state 
  of 
  change, 
  being 
  oxidized 
  and 
  reduced, 
  and 
  pass- 
  

   ing 
  into 
  marine 
  plants 
  and 
  animals. 
  When 
  the 
  seaweed 
  moves 
  lazily 
  

   to 
  and 
  fro 
  at 
  our 
  feet 
  large 
  quantities 
  of 
  iodine 
  are 
  being 
  withdrawn 
  

   from 
  circulation. 
  Some 
  of 
  it 
  is 
  constantly 
  being 
  lost 
  through 
  vapori- 
  

   zation 
  into 
  the 
  atmosphere, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  why 
  people 
  living 
  sufficiently 
  

   near 
  the 
  coast, 
  as 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  the 
  population 
  of 
  this 
  island 
  

   do, 
  do 
  not 
  suffer 
  from 
  goitre 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  as 
  the 
  population 
  of 
  the 
  

   great 
  central 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  

  

  