406 



CHAP. XX. 



THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF MARINE Lll'Ji. 



The Dependence of all created Beings upon Space and Time. — The Influence!) 

 which regulate the Distribution of Marine Life. — The four Bathymetrical Zones 

 of Marine Life on the British Coasts, according to the late Professor Edward 

 Forbes of Edinburgh. — Abyssal Animals* — Bathybius Haeckdii. — Deep-Sea 

 Sponges and Shell-Pish. — Vivid Phosphorescence of Deep-Sea Animals. — Deep- 

 Sea Shark Fishery. — The " Challenger." 



The wanderer to distant lands sees himself gradually surrounded 

 by a new world of animals and plants. On crossing the Alps, for 

 instance, the well-known vegetable forms of our native country 

 leave us one after the other; the beech, the fir, the oak, no 

 longer meet the eye, or appear but rarely, and of more stunted 

 growth, while in their stead citron and olive-trees decorate the 

 landscape ; and finally, on the shores of the Mediterranean the 

 world of palms begins to disclose its beauties. 



Thus during a long journey our early companions drop off 

 one after the other, until at last we see ourselves surrounded by 

 a crowd of new associates, who were strangers to us at the begin- 

 ning of our pilgrimage. 



We may cross the earth from pole to pole, or follow tne sun 

 in his diurnal course ; in all directions, from north to south and 

 from east to west, Nature will be found to change her garments 

 as we proceed, and never to resume again those she has once 

 cast off. The plants and animals of the temperate and cold 

 regions of the north are different from those of the analogous 

 regions in the southern hemisphere ; and in the tropical zone 

 each part of the world nourishes its peculiar inhabitants. 



Similar changes meet our eye on ascending from the plains to 

 the summits of high mountains. At the foot of Etna flourishes 

 the luxuriant vegetation of a warmer sky, the palmetto (Clia/mce- 

 rops humilis) and the pomegranate, even the cotton shrub and 

 the sugar-cane ; higher up, the cool shade of magnificent chestnut 

 woods refreshes our path; then follows the stately oak; until finally 

 we attain the dreary height where all vegetation ceases in the 



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