Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 08.djvu/364

LEFT SCYLLA 308 SEA 12 feet, six necks, and six mouths, each containing three rows of teeth. This be- ing haunted a rock on the Italian coast; a neighboring rock being tenanted by Charybdis, who thrice every day swal- lowed the waters of the sea, and thrice threw them up again. Like Medusa, Scylla is represented in some legends as having been beautiful, and as having been changed into a monster through the jeal- ousy of Circe or Amphitrite. SCYLLA, and CHARYBDIS (kar-ib' dis), the former a famous promontory and town of southern Italy, at the en- trance to the narrow strait separating Italy from Sicily. The promontory is 200 feet high, projecting into the sea, and at its base is the town. The navi- gation at this place was looked upon by the ancients as attended with immense danger. At the present day the risk is not more than attends the doubling of an ordinary cape. Charybdis (modern name Galofaro) is a celebrated whirlpool in the Straits of Messina, nearly oppo- site the entrance to the harbor of Messina in Sicily, and in ancient writings always mentioned in conjunction with Scylla. The navigation of this whirlpool is, even at the present day, considered to be very dangerous. SCYTHE, an implement which has been known from the earliest ages. The ancient form being nearly the same as the modern. It consists of a curved steel blade fixed at right angles to a long, crooked handle, to which are fastened two other smaller handles. One of the first American inventions was an im- provement in the scythe, originated by Joseph Jenks, who strengthened the back edge of the blade by welding to it a strip of iron. Scythes are used for cutting grass and corn; when for the latter pur- pose, a piece of wickerwork, called a cradle, is attached. In antiquity, the curved, cutting blade, which was affixed to the wheels of war chariots, was called a scythe. The implement in its agri- cultural form was an emblem of Saturn or Chronos or old "Father Time." SCYTHIANS, a name very vaguely used by ancient writers. It was some- times applied to all the nomadic tribes which wandered over the regions to the N. of the Black and the Caspian Seas, and to the E. of the latter. In the time of the Roman empire the name Scythia extended over Asia from the Volga to the frontiers of India. SEA, a general name for the great body of salt water which covers the greater part of the earth's surface; the ocean. In a more limited sense the term is applied to a part of the ocean which from its position or configuration is looked upon as distinct and deserving of a special name, as the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, etc. The term is also occasionally applied to inland lakes, as the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Galilee, etc. Area. — The waters of the sea cover about 130,000,000 square miles, or about two-thirds of the surface of the earth. The areas of the main division of the ocean are estimated as follows: Sq. miles Pacific (from Arctic Circle to 40° S.) 63,986,000 Atlantic (from Arctic Circle to 40° S.) 31,530,000 Indian (S. boundary 40° S.) .... 28,350,000 Arctic (within the Arctic Circle) 5,541,000 129,407,000 Depth. — The solid globe or lithosphere, viewed as to its superficial aspect, may be regarded as divided into two great planes; one of these corresponds to the dry land or upper surface of the con- tinental masses, and occupies about two- seventh of the earth's surface; the other, corresponding to the abysmal regions of the ocean, is depressed over 2V2 miles be- low the general level of the continental plane, and occupies about four-sevenths of the earth's surface. The transitional area, uniting these two planes, forms the sides or walls of the ocean basins, and occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. The depressed regions of the globe, represented by the ocean basins, are filled with sea water up to within about 375 fathoms (2,250 feet) of the general level of the continents, the aver- age depth of the water in the ocean basins being on the other hand about 2,080 fathoms (12,480 feet). The aver- age depths of the main divisions of the ocean are: Pacific Ocean 13.43S feet Atlantic Ocean 13,654 " Indian Ocean 12,887 " Arctic Ocean 3,837 " The greatest depth hitherto recorded is 5,269 fathoms or 31,614 feet in the Pa- cific near the island of Guam. In the Atlantic the greatest depth is 4,561 fathoms, off Porto Rico. Ross records a sounding in the Antarctic ocean where he found no bottom at 4,000 fathoms. By far the larger portion of the sea floor lies between the depths of 1,000 and 3,000 fathoms, equal to nearly 78 per cent., while about 17% per cent, is found in depths less than 1,000 fathoms, and about 4 y 2 per cent, in depths greater than 3,000 fathoms. The bulk of water in the