;ean 

 positen 



SCIENTIFIC SIDE-LIGHTS 



498 



the ocean. It seems, after much contro- 

 versy, to be at length a settled point that 

 the Caspian is really 83 feet 6 inches lower 

 than the Black Sea. As the Caspian covers 

 an area about equal to that of Spain, and 

 as its shores are in general low and flat, 

 there must be many thousand square miles 

 of country less than 83 feet above the level 

 of that inland sea, and consequently de- 

 pressed below the Black Sea and Mediter- 

 ranean. This area includes the site of the 

 populous city of Astrakhan and other towns. 

 Into this region the ocean would pour its 

 waters, if the land now intervening between 

 the Sea of Azof and the Caspian should sub- 

 side. Yet even if this event should occur, 

 it is most probable that the submergence of 

 the whole region would not be accomplished 

 simultaneously, but by a series of minor 

 floods, the sinking of the barrier being 

 gradual. LYELL Principles of Geology, bk. 

 i, ch. 10, p. 156. (A., 1854.) 



2448. OCEAN DEPTHS SUPPOSED 

 TO BE LIFELESS Our knowledge of the 

 natural history of the deep seas may be 

 said to have commenced not more than fifty 

 years ago. There are, it is true, a few frag- 

 ments of evidence of a fauna existing in 

 depths of more than a hundred fathoms to 

 be found in the writings of the earlier navi- 

 gators, but the methods of deep-sea investi- 

 gation were so imperfect in those days that 

 naturalists were disposed to believe that in 

 the abysses of the great oceans life was 

 practically non-existent. HICKSON Fauna 

 of the Deep Sea, ch. 1, p. 2. (A., 1894.) 



2449. OCEAN FLOOR OF THE 

 NORTH ATLANTIC A Vast Plain Depths 

 Where Mont Blanc Might Be Sunk. The 

 result of all these operations [soundings for 

 the cable] is that we know the contours 

 and the nature of the surface-soil covered by 

 the North Atlantic, for a distance of 1,700 

 miles from east to west, as well as we know 

 that of any part of the dry land. It is a 

 prodigious plain one of the widest and 

 most even plains in the world. If the sea 

 were drained off you might drive a wagon 

 all the way from Valentia, on the west coast 

 of Ireland, to Trinity Bay, in Newfound- 

 land. And, except upon one sharp incline 

 about 200 miles ( from Valentia, I am not 

 quite sure that i*t would even be necessary 

 to put the skid on, so gentle are the ascents 

 and descents upon that long route. From 

 Valentia the road would lie down-hill for 

 about 200 miles to the point at which the 

 bottom is now covered by 1,700 fathoms of 

 sea-water. Then would come the central 

 plain, more than a thousand miles wide, the 

 inequalities of the surface of which would 

 be hardly perceptible, tho the depth of water 

 upon it now varies from 10,000 to 15,000 

 feet; and there are places in which Mont 

 Blanc might be sunk without showing its 

 peak above water. Beyond this, the ascent 

 on the American side commences and gradu- 



ally leads for about 300 miles to the New- 

 foundland shore. HUXLEY Lay Sermons, 

 ?erm. 14, p. 182. (G. P. P., 1899.) 



2450. OLD AND NEW UNITE TO 

 MAKE CONSISTENT SYSTEM The great 

 merit of Cope's work on mammals is that 

 he always considered the old and new 

 the extinct and recent forms together. He 

 refused to be bound by consistency or by 

 precedent, either set by himself or others. 

 Fresh discoveries opened new vistas to him, 

 and he modified his views from time to time 

 and as often as he received new evidence. 

 GILL Address in Memory of Edward Drink- 

 er Cope in Proceedings of Amer. Assoc. for 

 Advancement of Science, vol. xlvi, 1897. 



2451. OMEN FULFILS ITSELF 



Halley's Comet at Battle of Hastings. The 

 comet of Halley appeared again in 1066, 

 at the time when William the Conqueror 

 invaded England. The chroniclers unani- 

 mously write, " The Normans, guided by 

 a comet, invaded England." The Duchess- 

 Queen Matilda, wife of William, has repre- 

 sented this comet and the amazement of her 

 subjects on the tapestry (230 feet long), 

 which may be seen at Bayeux. Queen Vic- 

 toria has in her crown a jewel the design 

 of which was suggested by the tail of this 

 comet, which had the greatest influence 

 on the victory at Hastings v FLAMMARION 

 Popular Astronomy, bk. v, ch. 1, p. 479. 

 (A.) 



2452. OMEN REVERSED BY SCI- 

 ENCE Serviceableness of the Screech-owl. 

 We do not think of owls as being insectiv- 

 orous birds, but Dr. A. K. Fisher tells U3 

 that of 225 screech-owls' stomachs examined, 

 100 contained insects. As 91 of the re- 

 maining 125 contained mice, and poultry 

 was found in only one stomach, the farmer 

 may well consider the screech-owl a bird of 

 good repute rather than of ill omen. CHAP- 

 MAN Bird-Life, ch. 7, p. 130. (A., 1900.) 



2453. OMISSION BY ANCIENT WRI- 

 TER A Common Bird Left without Mention. 

 It is a remarkable fact that Molina, tho 

 describing in detail all the birds and ani- 

 mals of Chile, never once mentions this 

 genus [Pteroptochos], the species of which 

 are so common and so remarkable in their 

 habits. Was he at a loss how to classify 

 them, and did he consequently think that 

 silence was the more prudent course? It 

 is one more instance of the frequency of 

 omissions by authors, on those very sub- 

 jects where it might have been least 

 expected. DARWIN Naturalist's Voyage 

 around the World, ch. 12, p. 271 (note). 

 (A., 1893.) 



2454. OMNISCIENCE IS FORE- 

 KNOWLEDGE Owe Knowing All Factors of 

 Decision Could Predict Result. Processes 

 [of will] may be compared to a man on a 

 journey who proceeds from a certain point 

 on foot by short stages, at any given time, 



