BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 105' 



tcrs; and that these might operate with the greatest 

 possible effect where most necessary, it is wisely so 

 ordered that both prevail most as we approach those 

 warm regions, where the intense heat would be fol- 

 lowed by most pernicious consequences on a stand- 

 ing pool, or stagnant fresh-water lakes, and are less 

 perceptible in climates more remote from the equator- 



The principal currents of the ocean are those ob- 

 served in the Atlantic ocean, near Guinea, extending 

 from Cape Yerd to the Bay of Fernandos. These 

 currents are so rapid, that vessels run as far in two 

 days with them, as require six or seven weeks to 

 return. 



Near Sumatra there are rapid currents, as also 

 between Java and Magellan, the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and the Island of Madagascar; especially 

 between Natal and the Cape on the coast of Africa; 

 there are violent currents in the sea adjacent to the 

 Maldivian Islands. 



One of the greatest tides w r e know of, is that a^ 

 the mouth of the river Indus, where the water rise 8 

 thirty feet in height .; it is no wonder, therefore, that 

 Alexander's soldiers, who had been accustomed to 

 behold the scarcely perceptible risings of the Medi- 

 terranean, 'should have viewed this striking pheno- 

 menon with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. 

 The tides are also remarkably high on the coasts of 

 Malay, in the Straits of Sunda, in the Red Sea, and 

 along the coasts of China and Japan. 



The sea contains the greatest quantity of salt in 

 the torrid zone, where, otherwise, from the excessive 



