The Mighty Deep 



One might suppose that the terrific weight 

 of miles of water would squeeze lower layers 

 to a smaller bulk. Water is, however, very 

 difficult to compress ; unlike air. 



At the bottom of the sea, four or five miles 

 deep, the weight is said to be equal to about 

 four tons upon the square inch. If this tremen- 

 dous load were pressing upon a mass of air, 

 eleven thousand cubic feet in quantity, the whole 

 would be crushed together into only twenty-two 

 cubic feet. But the same weight pressing upon 

 the same quantity of sea-water, would merely 

 reduce its size to ten thousand cubic feet. So 

 there is not much difference between the make 

 of sea-water near the surface and sea-water at 

 a great depth. 



Not only are ocean's depths calm and free from 

 storms ; not only are they black with midnight 

 darkness ; not only are they heavy with the 

 weight of miles of water overhead ; but also for 

 the most part they are cold. 



Changes from season to season, like changes 

 of weather, are superficial. At a depth of about 

 six hundred feet, Seasons have ceased to be. 

 There, summer and winter, autumn and spring, 

 exist no longer. The dead level of calm and 



o 



darkness is also a dead level of uniform weather 



46 



