32 A. li. Hunt — Facts observed 



two conflicting authorities, derived, one from an old provincial paper of 

 my own, and the other from " The Sea Coast" of my friend Mr. W. H. 

 Wheeler, M. Inst. C. E. 



Mr. Wheeler declai'es that " when there is considerahle wave- 

 motion on the surface of the sea at a depth at which divers are able to 

 work the water is found to be motionless" ("The Sea Coast," p. 15). 

 But he further asserts that " wind-wave action extends a very little 

 ■way below the surface " (Coast Erosion, Question 4290). The formula 

 given me by Loi'd Hayleigh, in the paper referred to, enables anyone 

 to calculate what submarine disturbance is caused by any wave of 

 known dimensions, and the depth to which it extends. I have myself 

 been collecting information on this general subject since 1871, and 

 have often pointed out the apparent certaiuty that the bottom down to 

 about 50 fathoms must be appreciablj- disturbed by wave-currents 

 if the records of the lengths and heights of waves are correct. My 

 own collected evidence stopped short at a sounding which by' the chart 

 is somewhere between 36 and 41 fathoms. The evidence was a rolled 

 and partially incrusted soda-water bottle, which was exhibited to 

 Section C at Southampton in 1882, and has since been exhibited at 

 a professional meeting of engineers to illustrate a professional paper. 



The facts on which I have chiefly insisted have been the influence 

 of alternate wave-currents on the marine fauna, and on erosion and 

 deposition ; also the independent and combined effects of tidal 

 currents. My arguments were necessarily based on experiment, on 

 sea and river observation, and on the authority of physicists. As 

 Lieut. Damant has been down to 35 fathoms, and assures me that 

 there is no difficulty in 30 fathoms, the physics of the shallow seas 

 will obviously become a subject of ordinary observation, freed from the 

 perils of induction, speculation, and conjecture. As a matter of fact, 

 my own work of 36 years has been superannuated before it has 

 even been accepted as sound. The following observations tell their 

 own tale : — 



" H.M.S. ' Excellent,' Portsmouth. 



" I have seen sharp, well-defined ripplemarks upon sand at from 

 8 to 10 fathoms ... 



" On the theory of the adaptation of certain gasteropodous shells in 

 shape and arrangement of spines to a form difficult to capsize on 

 a flat surface being due to the necessity of providing against fairly 

 violent water movements, I have often watched the state of afPairs down 

 below ; a gentle rhythmical swaying movement (in the vertical plane) 

 of shreds of weed, sprigs of polyzoa on stones, and the flexible tubes 

 of various worms is always noticeable at 12 fathoms and perhaps 

 more. . . . (Signed) " G. C. C. Damant. 



" \2th October, 1907." 



"H.M.S. 'Excellent; Portsmouth. 

 ". . . . the tide on the bottom certainly is not a steady hoi'izontal 

 sweep; it seems to come curling and twisting along in 'gusts,' but 

 this is only an impression. When hanging on, prone on the bottom 

 to prevent being swept away by a too strong tide, one is accustomed 

 to hear the sharp pattering on one's helmet of a regular hailstorm 



