DISCOLOUEED WATER. 617 



and in long. 54° W., he sailed for a whole day in dark-coloured water. 

 This was particularly remarked, inasmuch as similarly coloured sea is 

 met with in about lat. 10° and more easterly.* White-coloured water has 

 also been observed in lat. 16° N. 



Captain Nockells, in the ship Brightman, of London, May 5th, 1836, 

 observing that the sea appeared of a dirty dark green, in lat. 41° N., 

 long. 13° 19' W., tried for soundings, but found no bottom at 240 fathoms. 

 In two previous voyages, he found the water in the same place very much 

 discoloured, which he supposed might originate from the melting of the 

 ice in the northern latitudes. 



A remarkable change in the colour of the sea was observed by 

 M. Dupetit Thouars, on board the French frigate La VSnus, in lat. 

 21° 50' N., long. 19° 34' W., in the same spot which Fraisier had already 

 pointed out. The officers thought it was a bank, but no bottom was 

 found with 550 fathoms. f 



With the announcements before given, of Betsy Bock, Galissionikre 

 Bock, Martin Beef, St. Esprit Beef, and the singular phenomena related 

 by Churruca, Greevelink, and Nockells, it may be inferred that a large 

 extent of ocean, running parallel with the range of the Windward Islands, 

 covers either a range of submarine volcanoes, or that the bed is in a state 

 of action from the same cause. 



Lieut. Lee, in the U.S. brig Dolphin, also met with discoloured water 

 in lat. 12° 22' N., long. 54° to 55° W., but found no bottom at the East 

 end of this with 1,000 fathoms, and a depth of 2,570 fathoms at its West 

 end. He again came into discoloured water in lat. 14° 10' to 14° 50' N., 

 long. 54° 30' to 55° 0' W. 



On November 10th, 1884, Captain J. G. Martin, SS. Bellarena, wrote 

 to us as follows : — " On October 1st, 1884, weather calm, and sea very 

 smooth, in lat. 9° 30' N., long. 55° 30' W., whilst on a voyage to Demerara 

 from Glasgow, I saw what I at first thought large patches of weed, similar 

 to Gulf weed, at some distance on our beam ; shortly after, we passed 

 through beds of it, and it appeared when close like liquid palm-oil, and 

 floating as such ; the water under the scum was a beautiful blue ; we 

 steamed through alternate beds for upwards of 30 miles. I threw a 

 bucket in passing and caught some, which I bottled, and now send you ; 

 it appears to me nothing but immense beds of spawn, and I should think, 

 with wind and sea, would not be perceived." On examining this with a 

 powerful microscope, it was seen to be of vegetable origin, appearing like 

 wisps of grass, jointed similar to the bamboo, but much closer, probably 

 the spores of some marine plant. The locality is considerably to the 

 South of the region described above. 



In the region between lat. 20° N. and 10° S., between kng. 10° and 

 40° W., for which numerous logs were examined by the Mettorological 

 Office, in acquiring a knowledge of the Best Route across the E qui tor, 

 the following notes occur on the subject now under consideration. It may 



• " Verhandelingen en Berigten," 1854, page 385. 

 t " Voyage de la Venus," vol. iii., page 446. 



N. A. 0, 79 



