THE ACTINOMETPvY OF THE SEA. 451 



879. England tkroiigli Cook and Eoss; Eussia througli Bil- 

 Former expeditions. Imgshaiisen ; FrancG tlirougli D'Umlle; and the 

 United States throiigli Wilkes, have sent expeditions to the South 

 Sea. They sighted and sailed along the icy barrier, but none of 

 them spent the winter or essayed to travel across and look beyond 

 the first impediraent. The expeditions which have been sent to 

 explore unimo^Yn seas have contributed largely to the stock of 

 human knowledge, and they have added reno^Yn to nations, lustre to 

 diadems. Na^des are not all for war. Peace has its conquests, 

 science its glories ; and no nav}^ can boast of brighter chaplets than 

 those which have been gathered in the fields of geographical explo- 

 ration and physical research. 



880. The great nations of the earth have all, with more or less 

 An appeal for others. Spirit, Undertaken to investigate certain phenomena 

 touchmg the sea, and, to make the plan more efi'ectual, they have 

 agreed to observe according to a prescribed formula. The observa- 

 tions thus made have brought to light most of the facts and 

 circumstances which indicate the existence withm the antarctic 

 circle of a mild climate — mild by comparison. The observations 

 which have led to this conclusion were made by fellow-labom^ers 

 under all flags. It is hoped that this cu'cumstance may \dndicate, 

 in the eyes of all, the propriety of an appeal in this place for 

 antarctic exploration, and plead for it favom^able consideration among 

 all nations. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 



§ 881-895. THE ACTINOMETRY OF THE SEA. 



881. One of the columns in the man-of-war log of the Brus- 

 A new field. scls Conference calls for the temperatm-e of the 

 water below as well as at the surface of the sea. Only a few 

 entries have been made in this column ; but these, as far as they 

 go, seem to indicate that the w^armest water, especially in tropical 

 seas, is not to be found at the top, but in a stratum a little way 

 down. What is the depth of this stratum, and what may be the 

 thermal difference between its waters and those of the siu-face, are 

 questions for future observations to settle. Indeed, this subject 

 opens a new field of inquiry ; it is one from which much useful and 

 instructive information is doubtless to be obtained by any one of 



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