632 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



was reported, Low was it to be known at what moment it might not 

 have been fallen in with ? As we have seen above, in some years the 

 ice comes down in February ; perhaps the next year not until Sep- 

 tember. Can any one doubt that, the longer we continue to run with- 

 out seeing ice, the more emboldened we become to continue running 

 through the region where it is liable to be met with, in all kinds of 

 weather, trusting partly to our escape from accident in the past for 

 security in the future ? If this is not so, the nature of shipmasters 

 must be different from ordinary human nature ; and that the observa- 

 tion is a true one is, I think, proved by the experience of the past 

 season, when so many steamers continued to round the south end of 

 the Grand Bank, voyage after voyage, in a latitude where ice was 

 almost as certain to be encountered as the sun was sure to rise in the 

 morning ; and when it was also as certain that, by crossing the me- 

 ridian of 50 a hundred miles farther to the southward, the ice could 

 have been avoided altogether. 



The facts appended are the result of careful observations, taken 

 from June, 1875, to August of last year. The instruments were com- 

 pared frequently with standards, the temperature of the water taken 

 at least every hour, and, when changes were anticipated, sometimes 

 every ten minutes, between Henlopen and Cape Clear, and the hours 

 and minutes of fog noted when the whistle was blowing or when 

 we could not see far enough to clear a vessel without difficulty. I 

 presume it will be conceded that many more hours of hazy or misty 

 weather would be encountered on the northern than on the southern 

 route ; the vicinity of the colder water naturally bringing with it 

 more hours when a vigilant lookout would have to be kept, but when 

 it would not be necessary for the steam-whistle to be sounded. The 

 observations comprise thirty-two eastern and twenty-seven western 

 passages, from March to August inclusive, on routes one to five, and 

 five western passages in August, via Cape Race, on the middle of 

 the Bank. The eastern passages, from 1875 to 1879, were sailed on 

 track No. 3, w T hich crosses the 50th meridian in about 41 latitude, 

 and hauls sharp to the northward, on the Great Circle for the Fast- 

 net. For 1880-81 track No. 4 was followed, w T ith the exception 

 of the March passage in 1881, when 50 longitude was crossed in 42 

 latitude, thereby reducing slightly the average distance for the season. 

 During the season of 1882, track No. 5 was taken from April to 

 August. 



On the western passages, track No. 1, the route generally taken 

 in these months, was followed as closely as possible from 1875 up to 

 and including the June trip of 1880. The July passage of that year 

 was made on track No. 4. For the year 1881 the earliest trip, April, 

 was made on track No. 1 ; the subsequent passages on No. 4. During 

 the present year, with the exception of the March trip, the passages 

 have been made entirely on the extreme southern track, No. 5. 



