ICEBERGS AND FOG IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC. 633 



In following track No. 4, on eastern passages 5G and 63, six hours 

 and forty minutes of fog was encountered between 40 and 60 longi- 

 tude, and on the western passages 56, 63, and 64, nine hours and fifty- 

 one minutes between the same meridians. This fog, on these five pas- 

 sages, was found always very near the 48th meridian ; the mean tem- 

 perature of the surface-water, while the weather continued foggy, be- 

 ing 53 Fahr. in the early part of July, and 65 in the latter part of 

 the same month ; falling in a few moments from, and rising as rapidly 

 to, 89 in the former and 78 in the latter instance. This belt of cold 

 water, and of fog, which was entirely avoided on route No. 5 in 1882, 

 is described in Maury's " Physical Geography of the Sea." In writ- 

 ing of the Gulf Stream and climates of the ocean, he says : " Navi- 

 gators have often been struck with the great and sudden changes in 

 temperature of the waters hereabout ; . . . this ' bend ' is the great 

 receptacle of the icebergs which drift down from the north ; cover- 

 ing frequently an area of hundreds of miles in extent, its waters differ 

 as much as 20, 25, and in rare cases as much as 30 in temperature 

 from those about it. Its shape and place are variable. Sometimes it 

 is like a peninsula, or tongue of cold water, projected far down into 

 the waters of the Gulf Stream." In May, 1881, on track No. 4, the 

 width of this " tongue " was about fifty miles, and on the following pas- 

 sage in June less than thirty miles. On the latter passage I was en- 

 abled to predict its position with such certainty that I struck it inside of 

 half an hour of the time expected. All the fog experienced on track 

 No. 4 between the 40th and 60th meridians has been met with in this 

 immediate vicinity. With the limited number of observations, taken 

 only on one ship, it would no doubt be premature to give an opinion 

 as to the fixed locality of this tongue of the Arctic current ; but I can 

 nevertheless confidently affirm that between 40 and 60 longitude, the 

 tables below, with the observations of the temperature of the surface- 

 water, show, beyond dispute, that by an additional hundred miles of 

 distance, the chances of meeting fog in the spring and summer months 

 are almost, if not entirely, avoided. Whether it is worth the loss, from 

 the additional distance, to escape fog and very nearly all the ice, is a 

 question for each to decide for himself. 



The following table shows the hours of fog and distance sailed on 

 the voyages described above : 



Teack No. 1.-43 latitude, 50 longitude, to Fastnet on the Great Circle. 



]STo. 2.-42 latitude, 50 longitude, to Fastnet on the Great Circle. 



No. 3. 41 latitude, 50 longitude, to Fastnet on the Great Circle. 



No. 4.-41 latitude, 50 longitude, to 42 latitude, 45 longitude, thence to 

 Fastnet on Great Circle. 



No. 5, East. 40 30" latitude, 50 longitude, to 41 latitude, 47 longitude, 

 thence to Fastnet on Great Circle. 



No. 5, "West. Fastnet to 41 latitude, 47 longitude, thence to 40 latitude, 

 50 longitude, thence to Cape llenlopen. 



