What Becomes Of Wrecks?

In looking at the ocean, the mtnd almost instinctively turns to the fat o' the ships whtek have found ths;r i-sting place thereta. If t3M rsader were appolnted to inspect the bottom of the drained sea he would be sure to look at once for some remnants of this kind, overwhelmed by storm and battle. Fancy has depicted these vessels as thickly strewn over the bottom of the ocean, and at times as suspended in the depths, unable, on account of the deneity of the water, to find their wav down. But all know the conditions of the dep lead us to believe that the vessel sinks to the bottom straight away. In a few hours, at most, it reaches its everlasting grave, and Is ready for the swift destruction which awaits it. When it reaches the bed of the sea it must in part sink into the ooze, which everywhere is deep. Quickly the creatures of the sea who. by long existence in fields where food is scanty have learned to avail themselves of every chance of subsistence, seize upon all the organic matter which fortune has sent to them. Even the masts and the othcr woodwork will shortly be honeycombed and weighted down by Incrusting forms. If the reader could traverse the field whereunto come the shot-riddled ships of Trafalgar.he would probably be surprised at the little change to be observed in the landscape. Each wreek would almost likely appear as a low mound of debris, in which it would be difftcult to trace the semblance of the stout craft which waged the greatest sea fight of all time. Ships of European peoples have been for centuries finding their way to the floor of the ocean. Probably over one hundred thousand vessels have met this fate since the time when our race began to spread throughout the world. Yet by far the greatest part of these have fallen upon the shallows near the shore, where the swift currents and rapidly moving debris are likely to aid in their destruction and burial.