112 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
VERY DARK 
Very sensitive bromo-gelatine plates, auto- 
matically exposed and closed again at a depth 
of 500 fathoms—about half a mile—show that 
some rays of light reach that depth. For 
practical purposes, however, it is dark at 250 
fathoms. ‘Thus the deep sea is a world of 
dreadful night, and the utterness of the dark- 
ness must be almost intensified, one would 
think, by the fitful gleams of ‘“ phosphores- 
cent” light given forth by various deep-sea 
animals, both sedentary and wandering. Per- 
haps it is like the very badly lighted suburbs of 
a big town; perhaps it is like a moor on a very 
dark night, with only a few stars overhead. 
VERY CALM AND SILENT 
The deep sea is a place of silence and calm, 
for no sound can reach the depths, and the 
severest storms are comparatively shallow in 
their grip. There are no swift currents, but 
at most a gentle flow over the beds of ooze. 
What is this “ooze”? Over vast tracts of the 
ocean-floor there is an accumulation of minute 
particles, as fine as dust, varying in character 
