The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-09-03
CURRENTS or r,,s BRA

cal Geography of the Sea. SO many efforts
had been made without success. [, sound
the depths Of the ocean, that il had come TO
bc regarded as inpracticabc. Tho obsrr.
vation Of the currents that were known TO
exist IN It's waters were attended with SO
many difficulties that they were ut bcst but
impcrIcctly understood The same unccr-
taiHty prevailed will, regard to the winds +;
AMI navigation, consequently, was Il thin.
Of pure routine; vessel followed vessel over
prescribed! track, year after year, though,
as has since been amply proved, II much
more advantageous course might have been
shaped. The universally appreciated book
Of Lieut.. Maury lays before the public the
result of observations MAKE in aIl parts of
the globe us to currents am, winds, the tenn
'rraturc OF the water, the result of deep SCI,
soundlnss, DC, and hy the charts which
have been constructcd; will, the aid Of these
observations, the navigator is enabled bold
ly to steer over what to linn is wholly an
unknown sea. Thus many voyages are
much shortened, and very great savings
oltcnimcs effected
The Philadelphia North American, in IN
article on Winds and Currents, ad,luccs
some interesting facts, from which we make
some liberal extracts. 1t says, by Gar the
best known currents i'll the world Of waters.
Is the Cuff stream, which lies SO Immediate
ly III the track of modern commerce. II
has its origin in the Gulf Of Mexico, and
flows out SO near to the Flori, KEYS that
its deep blue color is sometimes distinctly
visible from them. The limo of ,lcmarcntion
between tho Gulf Stream and the colder
water which serves for lis bel, is rclnarka-
bly, well dcncd-so much so that it has
been possible 20 distinguish the instant at
which a vessel enters it. The general
course of the stream is first to the northeast
oil the coast of The United States-and
then turning TO the eastward, at about the
southern extremity Of the Great Banks. and
continually widening o" :!.e surface, it is
distributed to the british Islands and the
North OF furope~th natural riyor of Which
1t serves greatly TO temper. The compara-
lively mild temperature of the northwest of
Europe Is attributed mainly to the influence
OF the Gulf Stream, which carries from u
tropical region Of the earth Il great amount
OF heat, to be expended OH otherwise cheer
less shores. To the influence of the Gulf
Stream the moist climate Of Great Britain,
and especially Of Ireland, is due; and to the
same cause is owing the rain which our
nortl'eastcrs are pretty sure to bring. The
introduction Of large body Of heated wa
ter into colder region, it may rcauliIy Le
imagined, produces many atmospheric and
electrical changes, and hence the title Of
weather breeder" whicl, we are told sail
ors bcstow OH the Gulf Stream.
The large quantity Of water ever flowing
out from the Gulf Of Mexico is replaced ly
an equatorial current, witch crosses the
ocean from the coast Of Africa, and enters
the Caribbean Sea. Between the Gulf
Stream on the north, and this equatorial
current on the south, lies region which is
known AS the Sargasso Sea. According to
Lieut. Maury, it covers an area equal in cx-
tent 10 the whole Mississippi valley, and is
SO thlckly matted over with gulf weeds that
the speed of vessels passing through it is
often much retarded, and it sometimes ap-
pears to the eye solid enough to walk on.-
This phenomenon is attributed to the fact
OF the Sargasso Sea being the centre of a
whirl Of which the equatorial currents form
one portion and the Gulf Stream another.
The Atlantic ocean has been compared TO
basin Of water, in Which, when the fluid is
set into rapid motion, there is a tendency
Ill amy light substances that may Lc float
ing on the outside OF the wll:rl to the ccr-
ire OF the basin, and the presence of this
drift in comparatively motionlcss sea is
taken as one evidence of the existence of a
circular current in tho Atlantic, nowiuo
westward 10 the great American gulf, rush
ing out through the straits of Florida. and
sweeping with wide curve to tho shores
OF northern Europe, from which a current
sets to the south along the coast of Europe
and Africa. 1t is very common for bottles
containing slip Of paper, with the name
OF the ship, and its precise latitude and
Longitude, to be thrown overheard in differ
ent parts Of the world, and tho places in
which these bottles are picked up, after tho
lapse OF considerable time, indicate the
general direction of tho currents From
experiments of this nature, it appears that
there Is steady tendency of the water of
the Atlantic to and from the Gulf of Mexi-
co. A bottle dropped overheard at Cape
Horn is picked up in the Caribbean Sea;
another dropped off the coast of Africa
makes appearance in tho Gulf Stream