THE OCEAN WORLD. 
— 
CHAPTER I. 
THE OCEAN. 
Aptorov pty b3ep—< The best of all things is water.” —PINDAR. 
Ir is estimated that the sea covers nearly two-thirds of the surface of 
the earth. The calculation, as given by astronomers, is as follows: 
The surface of the earth is 31,625,625, square miles, that portion 
occupied by the waters being about 23,814,121 square miles, and 
that consisting of continents, peninsulas, and islands, being 7,811,504 
miles ; whence it follows that the surface covered with water is to 
dry land as 3°8 is to 12. The waters thus cover a little more than 
seven-tenths of the whole surface. ‘‘On the surface of the globe,” 
Michelet remarks, “ water is the rule, dry land the exception.” 
Nevertheless, the immensity and depth of the seas are aids rather 
than obstacles to the intercourse and commerce of nations; the 
maritime routes are now traversed by ships and steamers conveying 
cargoes and passengers equal in extent and in point of numbers to 
the land routes. One of the features most characteristic of the ocean 
is its continuity ; for, with the exception of inland seas, such as the 
Caspian, the Dead Sea, and some others, the ocean is one and 
indivisible—“ it embraces the whole earth with an uninterrupted 
wave.” 
Tlep) wacay 6 efAtooopevous 
x06” akomhre petpar. 
/ESCHYLUS in Prometheus Vinctus. 
The mean depth of the sea is not very exactly ascertained, but 
certain phenomena observed in the movement of tides are supposed 
to be incapable of explanation without admitting a mean depth of 
B 
