VOYAGE TO GREENLAND. 
163 
those objects which I had so long looked upon with 
unceasing delight, were now, from the loss of their 
modest clothing, offensive to the eye. 
The ship being nearly at rest. Captain Scoresby 
made some curious experiments to exhibit the effect 
of the pressure of the water, at given depths, in 
the following manner: a glass quart bbttle was 
closely stopped with a piece of very dry close- 
grained wood, about three inches in length, and 
extremely buoyant ; the bottle was then weighed 
with the greatest exactness, and by means of a 
deep sea lead, it was lowered 250 yards into the 
sea ; after remaining down some time it was hauled 
up, and it was found that the pressure of the water 
upon the stopper, had forced that fluid through the 
pores of the wood, and that the bottle had received 
two ounces of sea-water. The bottle was in a like 
manner prepared for a second experiment, and 
lowered to the depth of 1,000 yards, but the im- 
mense pressure of the volume of water at that depth 
had broken the bottle. The wmoden stopper was 
next examined ; it had not only lost its original 
buoyancy, but acquired a ponderous nature ; it 
sank like a stone, and was found to have increased 
by one half of its original weight ; on splitting it, 
the pores shewed that they had all been conductors 
of the fluid. To extend this interesting experi- 
ment, I furnished Captain Scoresby with a strong 
oblong copper vessel, in the mouth of which a long 
piece of wood was securely screwed, so as to prevent 
a possibility of any water entering; and it was 
M 2 
