The Galaxy Author:Making of America Project Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Lieutenant Walsh, U. S. N., makes the following sensible remarks respecting this wonderful whirlpool of the Gulf Stream—wonderful at least as romances have made ... more »it wonderful, and a whirlpool as theorists have consulted their imagination for their facts. " We saw," says Lieutenant Walsh, " very little gulf or sea-weed in it, but much on its outer edge. While mentioning this weed I may here remark that we looked in vain in the region assigned to the sargasso, for the great fields of it which have been reported. Small patches of five or six feet, generally arranged in long parallel lines in the direction of the wind, were seen daily in crossing the Atlantic till we reached the longitude of 28 tleg., where it disappeared altogether. My frequent examinations of this weed satisfy me that wherever it may originally have come from, it feeds and grows upon the waters of the sea, which is certainly not more strange than the plant which feeds upon the air." And now, having settled with the famous Sargasso Sea, aud got the Gulf Stream within reasonable limits, let us hope that we may have done something to stimulate our Navy Department to bestir itself in behalf of a much- needed exploration; for we think it due to the character of the United States that this Gulf Stream, which takes its departure from our shores, should be explored to its end. The United States Coast Survey has done all or nearly all that has been done hitherto; but let the Secretary of the Navy direct that ships of war or the practice ships of the Naval Academy cruise in the stream and examine it thoroughly. This would cost the country nothing, and we should only contribute a small portion of the debt we owe to the fund of hydrographic knowledge created by England and France. Dr. I. I. Hates. SINCE TO MY LIPS. [from T...« less