The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-04-10
VOYAGES OF BOTTLES.
Strange Stories Of Wanderngs at
sea Told by Corked-Up
MESSENGERS.

Hottie papers arc II new experiment OF
Uncle Sans. Within tho hast three
years many thousands OF them have
bern dlslr!butcd among mariners by the
ni lysp ONCE OF the navy, with
instructions to throw them into the sea.
Some hundreds have already been picked
up III various parts of the world. Il few
OF them having t0ated nearly around
the globe, The voyages accomplished
by them have been the means of So
curing much new scientific information
relating 70 the currents of tinercn,
oceans. IN foct success i'll this line has
been so great that the government pro-
poses to continue the business
One or the most remarkable bottles
was dropped by the yacht LIIirondcllr,
belonging to the Prince of Monaco. lie
threw It Overheard in July. 1887, in the
mid-Atlantic, about 1000 miles due east
from New York. 1t tlouted about for
Marcn, lSoo, In the ncighborhood Of Gu
ba. During that period it is supposed
to have drifted COCO miles.
Announcer long voyage was that Of Il bot
tie put into the water in June, 1890, by
the brigaitine Charles Cotcsworth, not
far so,th of, the Cape Verde islands. 1t
was not picked up until June, 1899. in
the Gulf of Mexico, having travc!rd
about 1000 miles. Quite rapid voyager
berg in May, 1904. It travelled 1900
miles in just year. starting near Mad
ira, and bringing up OH one of the Ba-
hamas. Of course, the routes taken by
the bottles are very devious. drifting as
they 10 hthcr and thther with the cur
rents. II they chance to get into the
stream that ina krs Il circuit IF the
North Atlantic they are apt to be car
rled clear across that ocean and back
one or more times.
The routes followed by the bottle
papers picked up and returned to the
photographic office are marked out Oh
charts These charts are Il curious
study, The starting point of each bottle
is INDICATED by Il star. aud the place
circle. Between the star and the circle
i'll each case Is drawn a line Indicating
approximately tn" course taken in drift
ing. From ali examination Of one Of
these charts it appears that nottl.
dropped into the sea off the Grand Banks
of Wfoundland is likely to be carried
eastward nearly across the Atlantic,
then turning southwark and Skirting the
shore of Africa. 1t follows the great
ocean stream referred to, which sweeps
it westward and back across the Atlantic
again, throwing it eventually upon one
of the Bahamas. 'rht1s it's eottrse traces
a gigantic cllipse. taking i'll practically
the whole of the great pond Of tile North
Atlantic:
On the other hand as shown by the
charts, bottles thrown overheard to the
north of the Grand Banks USUALLY es-
cape the great circulating current and
float in. northeast direction. landing
eventually on the coast of Ireland or
Scotland. or else making great sweep
to the far North and coming ashore in
Northern Norway. Dccnsi onully such
h<><%l a.
more directly. mort h. Again. hotties lib-
Grated in mid-Atlantit., in the latitude
Of the Bar adurs and further south, will
escaping the circulating stream. travel
northward. landing upon the Windwarl
or Lecward isla nGs. or else finding their
way through the Carl bbcan sea and
perhaps eventually into the Gulf Of Next