H2 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 



VERY DARK 



Very sensitive bromo-gelatine plates, auto- 

 matically exposed and closed again at a depth 

 of 500 fathoms about half a mile show that 

 some rays of light reach that depth. For 

 practical purposes, however, it is dark at 250 

 fathoms. Thus the deep sea is a world of 

 dreadful night, and the utterness of the darkness 

 must be almost intensified, one would think, 

 by the fitful gleams of " phosphorescent " light 

 given forth by various deep-sea animals, both 

 sedentary and wandering. Perhaps it is like 

 the very badly lighted suburbs of a big town ; 

 perhaps it is like a moor on a very dark night, 

 with only a few stars overhead. 



VERY CALM AND SILENT 



The deep sea is a place of silence and calm, 

 for no sound can reach the depths, and the 

 severest storms are comparatively shallow in 

 their grip. There are no swift currents, but 

 at most a gentle flow over the beds of ooze. 

 What is this " ooze " ? Over vast tracts of the 

 ocean-floor there is an accumulation of minute 

 particles, as fine as dust, varying in character 



