Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1891-10-10
AIR AND OCEAN cuRRrnra
Their Paths Traced by the Voyage. =,
bottles Thrown Into the San.

Their Paths Traced by the Voyage. =,
Bottles Thrown Into the Sea.
Some very interesting facts appea.
upon the chart just issued by the ~.
geographic bureau TO exhibit the drih
OF bottles thrown into the North A.
lantic Ocean at different points a.
the purpose Of determining the diree.
ton and velocity OF the surface cur.
rents, says the New York Sun. Tina
average distance travelled by il3 bot.
ties in a mean period OF 100 days was
500 miles and the average weight 81
drift was 5.S miles dav. Since many
OF the bottles were found on sea beach.
es, and as the length OF their stay uuon
the beach before they were discovered
is unknown, although necessarily
counted in the total time elapsed since
they were thrown overheard II is eyl.
dent that the average velocity OF drift
mentioned Is considerably under tina
truth. The greatest velocity shown Il
1871 miles day, and the least 0.3 Of
mile day. IL should be said. how.
ever that the smallest yelOciues In
the tables accompanying the chart are
exhibited by bottles that had been
adritt for comparatively short times.
and had not therefore been exposed
10 the effects OF long continued or sue
cessiye gales. In some cases, hos.
ever. yelocities above the average are
shown by bottles that had ilOated only
"a short time.
The first general fact that strikes
the eye in viewing the chart Is that
the bottles followed the known tracks
OF storms and the direction Of ocean
currents. whose existence has been as.
certained In other ways. Those
thrown over near the coast Of the
| United States travelled along the path
OF the gulf stream as far as il Is clearly
| traccable and then continued on In the
general course pursued by cyclones
which cross the north Atlantic and
reach the British isles. Those thrown
over in mld-ocean. half way betWeea
Newfoundland and the coast Of Europe
generally followed long, curved path
as far south as the latitude OF the Cape
Verde Islands. aud then. turning west.
ward with the trade winds ended their
adventures among the West India
] Islands. Bottles started between the
projecting shoulders Of Africa aud
South America also drlited In u north.
westerly direction until they reached
the WindwArd Islands. There is a
striking appearance o. q great whlri In
I tho ocean. two or three thousand
miles In diameter aud ceatraied 10
the middle % the Atlantic, AS indicated
by the path oi the bottles on the chart
The Imagination Is impressed with the
suggestion Of individuality and OF life
and motion that these great current
lines give 20 the sea.
One interesting characteristic OF tho
drift Of the tell.tnlo bottles i that Ia
almost every case where bottle was
thrown overheard within few miles
OF land, II drlftcd straight ashore as
II impelcd by some attraction. Ia
many cases an island WAS the nearest
land and the bottles foated direct 10
the island ~ though Il were the tabled
mountain Of adanRnt In the Arabian
Nights" that had tho power Of drawing
ships from afar into Is deadly EN-
brace. Two bottles dropped into ths
sea some fFc hundred miles from ths
coast ot Africa and about two hundred
miles apart In 1 or ) degrees Of north
latitude, were found to have met OF 9
point on tho African shore nearly foul
months after their voyage began
Other equally curious indications o
the play Of winds and currents over ihl
never resting Atlantic can be seen II
this interesting little chart aud thci
study may eventually lead to import
mt advances in mans knowledge ans
mastery Of tho sea.