842 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol.. XXXII. No. 832 



The indefinite descriptions of the area and 

 mass of seaweed, as well as the extraordinary- 

 statements made by some authors in discus- 

 sing the origin of coal, induced the writer to 

 make an examination of the conditions for 

 himself. The matter is easy, because the 

 steamship route between Barhadoes and the 

 Azores crosses the area diagonally and passes 

 very near the center. In going from Barba- 

 does to the Azores the steamer crossed — 



North latitude 21° 8' at 50° 17' west longitude. 



24° 39' 46° 2' 



27° 44' 41° 36' 



30° 53' 36° 57' 



33° 58' 31° 57' 



In returning from the Azores to Barbadoes 

 the crossings were 



North latitude 21° 46' at 48° 18' west longitude. 



24° 59' • 44° 4' 



28° 3' 39° 57' 



31° 8' 35° 28' 



The return course being approximately two 

 degrees east from the outward route. On the 

 twenty-seventh parallel the line is very near 

 the center of the usually accepted area as de- 

 fined by Carpenter. Returning, the steamer 

 passed by daylight much of the area passed by 

 night on the outward passage. 



On the outward passage, the first seaweed 

 was seen just north from the twenty-first par- 

 allel, but only a few isolated bunches, 6 to 12 

 inches in diameter. As the twenty-third par- 

 allel was approached, weed became more 

 abundant and the quantity increased until 

 nightfall, when the twenty-fifth was crossed. 

 The bunches, all well isolated, were from 5 to 

 18 inches in diameter and occasionally they 

 occurred in lines 50 or more feet long. During 

 much of the day, the number of bunches 

 averaged about a score to the acre and fre- 

 quently there were spaces 1,000 feet wide, 

 without any trace of weed. On the twenty- 

 sixth parallel, the weed was comparatively 

 abundant, but it was still in separated 

 bunches, though one patch was observed 

 about 6 feet square. The arrangement ordi- 

 narily is linear, following the direction of the 



wind, approximately northeast and southwest; 

 sometimes there is a long line of single 

 bunches while at others there are strips 3 to 

 10 feet wide; but the intervening spaces of 

 100 to 500 feet are almost weedless. On the 

 twenty-seventh parallel, the ship was in west 

 longitude 41° 36', therefore almost central in 

 the sargasso, but there the weed had practi- 

 cally disappeared. Occasionally a short line 

 was seen but the ship many times passed 

 1,000 feet with no trace. Beyond the twenty- 

 eighth parallel the number of bunches aver- 

 aged about 25 per hour, while beyond the- 

 thirty-first one sees only an occasional frag- 

 ment. 



On the return voyage, seaweed seemed to be 

 absent until the twenty-eighth parallel was 

 reached at west longitude 40°, where a few- 

 bunches were seen. No more was observed 

 until the twenty-third parallel at west longi- 

 tude 45°, where some lines of single bunches 

 were crossed. Beyond that not more than SO 

 bunches, all told, were seen until Trinidad was 

 reached. 



During the voyage from Barbadoes to the 

 Azores, the writer had opportunity to gain 

 important information from two officers whO' 

 had crossed the sargasso sea many times- 

 Captain W. J. Dagnall, of the E. M. S. P. 

 steamship Orotava was long in charge of a 

 steamer plying between Jamaica and South- 

 ampton, a route much farther west than be- 

 tween Barbadoes and the Azores, as it crosses 

 the twenty-seventh parallel 730 miles away, 

 but thence the routes converge. Along this 

 western line the seaweed is often abundant, 

 but neither there nor on the Barbadoes- 

 Azores route did he ever see a patch of weed 

 exceeding an acre in extent. Much depends 

 on the time of year, for weed appears to ac- 

 cumulate while the trades are mild and to be 

 broken up later in the season when the- 

 strength of the winds increases. In any case, 

 however, the weed occupies only a small part. 

 of the area, the patches being separated by- 

 wide spaces of clear water, almost free from 

 weed. Many of the bunches show unmistak- 

 ably that they had been attached to rock; and 

 the plants have traveled far, since in a large 



