Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-23
Years Operations Of the Bottle
Fleet"
EXHIBITION OF GREAT SPEED
One Castaway Gave Daily Az
erage Equal to Sailing Vessels.
COOPERATION OF RUSSIANS

erations of the so-called bottle fleet
during the past year. According to the
Army and Navy Register there Is no way
of ascertaining the exact number of bottles
cast adrift during that period, but 1t Is
thought to be a thousand or more, thus
showing that only a comparatively small
percentage of those released are recovered.
A great majority of those that were picked
up and sent back to Washington were
found on the coasts bordering the Atlantic.
This undoubtedly was the result of the
bottles being thrown overheard in the At
lantic by captains leaving ports in this
country. TIE map prepared by the hydro
graphic office shows that with one or two
exceptions all bottles cast adrift in the At
lantic between Florida and Halifax, within
few hundred miles of the coast, took a
northwesterly course, winding up on the
English French coast The lines de-
scribed by them are practically straight,
and show little variation. One bottle
adopted rather eccentric path. 1t escaped
the currents followed by most of it's fell
lows and starting from a point opposite
the Massachusetts coast, took wider de-
tour to the south. 1t passed within few
hundred miles of the Cape Verde Islands
and then fell into a strong current that
sweeps along the northern coast of South
America. 1t had Strengthened out in the
direction of the Gulf of Mexico when it
Islands. 1t was two years and six months
on its journey. during which it traversed
3.G9 miles, an average of four miles per
day.
A Remarkable Drift.
Decidedly the most remarkable drift of
one of these bottles in recent years occur
red last fall. A messenger known officially
or the chart of the department as No 26,
was thrown overheard from the Hamburg
Am bismarck I
about $50 miles southeast of Cape Race, and
recovered. according to the letter of trans
initial from the United States consul at
Hamburg. August l. 1898, at Twielenfleth,
in the vicinity of Gluckstadt on the Elbe.
The distance between these two points, fol-
lowing the indicated route through the
English channel. is = 400 miles. and as the
bottle was at sea total of but ninety-two
days, this gives it a daily average of Isl
miles as the lowest possible speed it could
have travelled. This is far in excess of any
similar drift hitherto reported to the hy
geographic Office, the nearest approach to
it being daily average of 81 miles. which
attained by a bottle thrown overheard
December %, 1895, about 200 miles distant
from the point at which No. 26 was drop
ped into the sea, and recovered March 2S,
1896. on one of the Shetland Islands. One
of the bottles recovered last year had been
afioat since October Is, 1898. while another.
also recovered last year, had been drifting
since August. 1894, having covered 800
miles at an average of one mile per day
In the case of the bottle from the Furst
Bismarck the officials were inclined to
doubt the accuracy of the information con-
tained on the slip sent in and an inquiry
was made of the steamboat officials in re-
gard to the matter. Capt. A. Albers
promptly looked into the affair, and re-
ported that the date on which the bottle
was thrown from his ship was correct, as
shown by his ships log. The speed made
by this ''fioater'' is equal to that of the ma
jority of slow-going sailing ships.
Fioated for Ten Years.
In the early history of the investigation
OF ocean currents by this system a bottle
was known to remain afloat for ten years.
This is the most remarkable achievement
of this kind record. OF course. there is
no absolute rule by which the distance
Travelled by these messengers may be as
certained. as one of them may be landed on
a beach and be washed out to sea again be-
fore being picked up. Thus it may go off
on another long voyage and get no credit
for its first trip.
Occasionally bottles are fished out of the
midocean, the discoveries sometimes think
ing that they may contain messages from
people in distress. An examination of the
various drifts of bottles last year shows
that near the equator the velocity of the
ocean currents is much greater than in
higher ATTITUDES.
Moved by Wind Or Current:
er or not bottle is mere subject to the
action of the waters in which it is sub
merged or to the action of the wind This
is still disputed point, some claiming that
the influence of steady current is strong
er than that of the wind, while others take
the opposite view
Instances are record of bottle hav-
ing moved thousands of miles in opposition
to the direction of the prevailing wind No
cases, however. have been reported to the
photographic office of bottles proceeding in
opposition to the direction of the current.
50 it would seem that the theory that the
force of currents is stronger than that of
the wind Is the right one.
1t is no unusual thing for bottle to
make a complete circuit of an ocean. One
dropped overheard in the vicinity of Cape
Verde Islands could do this by crossing the
Atlantic, entering the Gulf of Mexico by
the Strait Of Yucatan, emerging again
through the Strait of Florida. thence drift
ing northward and eastward of the gulf
stream TO the neighborhood Of the Azores.
and then back again to its starting point
in the Cape Verde Islands. The length of
time occupied in a drifting voyage of this
character could hardly be less than two
years covering in the round trip about 12,-
600 miles.
Russian CO-Operation.
During the year just closed the Russian
government, through Vice Admiral Kama
koff, requested permission to assist the
American photographic Office in it's work
This being gladly granted, the imperial
Russian cruiser Duke of Edinburgh was
instructed to distribute bottle papers dur
ing two cruises, TIL first from Cronstadt
To Windward Islands and return. and the
second from Cronstadt to Cape Verde
Islands via the Mediterranean s a and re-
turn.
Some Arctic Experiments.
During the coming winter some interest
inS experiments are to be made with float
ing receptac.es, which are expected to de-
velop much valuable information regarding
the north pole. The Geographical Society
of Philadelphia has arranged to distribute
a number of iron-bound oaken casks among
the sailors visiting the extreme northern
waters, with directions to set them adrift
in the Arctic ocean north of Alaska and
the Boring sea. The expectation Is that
one more of these casks will succeed in
| drifting across the Arctic to the north of
| North America, and be recovered in
| the entrance to Baffin bay or Davis strait
| The result of the experiments will prove of
| the greatest value to future seekers for the
| POLE. as it will either confirm or deny not
| only the existence of northwest passage