652 ANIMAL LIFE— WAVES. 



the differences in the chemical and physical conditions of the water, and 

 in the proportions of its contained gases depending upon such extreme 

 conditions, do not influence animal life to any great extent. 



" The geographical extension of any animal species, whether on land or 

 in the sea, appears to depend mainly upon the maintenance of a tolerably 

 uniform temperature, and the presence of an adequate supply of suitable 

 food. 



" There is every reason to believe that the Fauna of deep water is 

 confined principally to two belts, one at and near the surface, and the 

 other on and near the bottom; leaving an intermediate zone, in which 

 the larger animal forms, vertibrate and invertibrate, are nearly or en- 

 tirely absent." 



Mr. J. J. Wild remarks, notwithstanding the number of miles of sea- 

 bottom paJfesed over by the Challenger's dredges, that, with the exception 

 of a few sharks' teeth and some ear-bones of whales, no trace of the more 

 highly organised animals was brought to the surface. No human bones, 

 no portion of a ship or any other article of human naanufacture, were 

 ever raised from the deep sea. 



The Sea Serpent. — The belief in the Sea Serpent dates from very early 

 times, but there is no authentic case of the capture of such a creature, or 

 of the finding of its remains. Several cases of its appearance have been 

 so strongly testified, that it is difficult to disbelieve the existence of some 

 gigantic species of the eel and octopus or cuttle-fish ; certainly, the wide 

 ocean affords plenty of room for the accommodation of such creatures. 

 Doubtless, in many cases, observers have been misled by appearances due 

 to sharks or porpoises swimming in line, or to swarms of sea-fowl, and 

 long lines of seaweed. 



Mr. Gosse, in his " Eomance of Natural History," carefully collected 

 numerous accounts of the Sea Serpent, and by classifying them found the 

 average description is that of a large serpent, 60 ft. long, with a flat head, 

 neck 12 to 16 inches in diameter, with a kind of mane, body of a dark 

 colour, but lighter on the under surface, swimming with its head slightly 

 elevated, and spouting water. 



WAVES. — The Waves of the Ocean, like other undulating bodies, move 

 onward, but the water of which they are formed is constantly being 

 changed, as will be readily seen from the movements of any light floating 

 object, which does not keep pace with the wave motion, but is left behind. 

 Many interesting observations have been made upon the dimensions of 

 ocean Waves, but the results of different observers naturally differ widely, 

 as the surface of the sea is rarely traversed by long unbroken lines of 

 Waves, and usually assumes the appearance of a succession of billows or 

 detached hills of water, making accurate measurements difficult. 



In ordinary gales, in deep water, the height of the Waves, from trough 

 to crest, is from 15 to 20 feet. Dr. Scoresby, a careful observer, measured 

 Waves 30 ft. high in the North Atlantic Ocean, and was of opinion that 

 43 ft. was a maximum height in heavy seas. A height of 36 ft. has been 

 /ecorded in the Bay of Biscay, and Admiral Fitzroy, on one occasion, 



