58 PHYSICAL GEOG-EAPHY OF THE SEA, AND ITS METEOEOLOGY. 



collect tlie little diatomes. Iiiicagiue, now, how many mednsae- 

 moiitliMs of water there must be in the sea, which, though loaded 

 with diatomes, are never filtered through the stomachs of these 

 creatm^es ; imagine how many medusse the whale must gulp down 

 with every mouthful ; imagine how deep and thicldy the bottom 

 of the sea must, dming the process of ages, have become covered 

 with the flinty remams of these little organisms; now call to 

 mind the command which was given to the waters of the sea on 

 the fifth day of creation; and then the boasted povrers of the 

 imagination are silenced in their very impotency, and the emotions 

 of wonder, love, and praise take iheii place. 



163. The sea has its climates as well as the land. They both 



?hTciSiatesofiaud ^^^^^o® ^''^'^^'^ *^^^6 ktitudo ; but oue varies with the 

 and sea. "^ elcvation above, the other with the depression be- 



low the sea level. The cKmates in each are regulated by circula- 

 tion ; but the chief regulators are, on the one hand, winds ; on the 

 other, cmTents. 



164. The inhabitants of the ocean are as much tlie creatures 

 Order and design, of cHmate as are those of the dry land; for the 



same Almighty hand which decked the lily and cares for the 

 sparrow, fashioned also the pearl and feeds the great whale ; He 

 adapted each to the physical conditions by which his providence 

 has surrounded it. Whether of the land or the sea, the inhabitants 

 are all his creatures, subjects of his laws, and agents in his eco- 

 nomy. The sea, therefore, we may safely infer, has its ofiices and 

 duties to perform ; so, may we infer, have its currents, and so, too, 

 its inhabitants ; consequently, he who undertakes to study its 

 phenomena must cease to regard it as a waste of waters. He must 

 look upon it as a part of that exquisite machinery by which the 

 harmonies of nature are preserved, and then he will begin to per- 

 ceive the developments of order and the evidences of design : viewed 

 in this light, it becomes a vast field for study — a most beautiful 

 and interesting subject for contemplation. 



165. To one who has never studied the mechanism of a watch, 

 Terrestrial adapta- its maiu-spring or the balance-wheel is a mere piece 

 *'''°^- of metal. He may have looked at the face of the 

 watch, and, while he admires the motion of its hands, and the 

 time it keeps, or the tune it plays, he may have wondered in idle 

 amazement as to the character of the machinery which is concealed 

 within. Take it to pieces, and show him each part separately; 

 lie win recognize neither design, nor adaptation, nor relation be- 



