PREFACE 



THIS little book makes no profession to be 

 a systematic text -book of Oceanography, 

 or to contain exhaustive discussions of the latest 

 discoveries and theories. The subject is far too 

 vast to be so dealt with in one small volume. A 

 library would almost be needed for the purpose. 



Much information has been gained within the 

 last decade or two of years about the Ocean, 

 its make, the laws which govern its movements, 

 its dark and mysterious depths, the various 

 deposits upon its bed, and the innumerable 

 living creatures by which it is inhabited. All 

 that I have attempted has been to cull a certain 

 number of leading facts from the great store- 

 house of knowledge, and to put them in order, 

 for the many who love sea-breezes and ocean- 

 waves, and who may like to know a little more 

 about the friend whom they so often visit. 



