ITS INFLUENCE ON THE OCEAN. 175 



exhibited a granular pellicle on its surface. Spirits 

 of naphtha froze at 54 below zero, and oil of sassa- 

 fras at 49. The oil of winter-green was in a floc- 

 culent state at 56, and solid at 63. 



"The exhalations from the surface of the body 

 invested the exposed or partially clad parts with a 

 wreath of vapour. The air had a perceptible pun- 

 gency upon inspiration, but I could not perceive the 

 painful sensation which has been spoken of by some 

 Siberian travellers. When breathed for any length 

 of time, it imparted a sensation of dryness to the 

 air-passages. I noticed that, as it were involuntarily, 

 we all breathed guardedly, with compressed lips." 



Now, strange to say, this extremely low tempera- 

 ture does not affect the ocean to any great depth. 

 Just below the ice, in cold such as the above, the 

 sea was found to be 29 above zero. No doubt, 

 deeper down, the temperature was still warmer. 

 We have heard it said, that when men chance to 

 fall into the water in cold regions, in the depth of 

 winter, it feels at first rather warm and agreeable ! 

 On scrambling out again, however, their condition 

 is not enviable ; for in a few minutes the keen frost 

 causes their garments to become as hard as boards. 



Much light has been thrown on the fact of the 

 existence of under and upper currents in the sea, 

 by the phenomena of the arctic regions, and some 

 of the questions to which these currents give rise 

 are so interesting that we shall treat of them in 

 a new chapter. 



