216 



With regard to the bearing- of these observations on the cur- 

 rents of the sea we may perhaps infer in the first plaoe that not 

 only does a considerable body of the warm A^ulhas current flow 

 into False Bay, thus accountinp: for the higher temperature there 

 as compared with Table Bay (a fact already well known), but also 

 that a large portion escapes round the Oape Peninsula, passes close 

 to tlie Cape of (food Hope, and proceeds northwards at a greater 

 distance from the laud, that it is of no great depth, 20 — 30 

 fathoms at most within 50 miles of tlie shore, and that it is much 

 influenced by the direction of the wind. Between this and the 

 Cape Peninsula is a body of water of lower temperature and 

 specific gravity, being doubtless the welling up of the 

 Antarctic current passing under the warm current and impinging 

 on the west side of the Peninsula. From the sudden and marked 

 changes in temperature in this region it is evident that there is 

 considerable commiugling of the currents. 



As the Equatorial current, passing south along and round the 

 coast of Africa, is successively called the Mozaml3ique and Agui- 

 has Current, so we may designate this last section of the current, 

 passing up the West Coast, the Capo Current.* 



I have intentionally refrained from elaborating any generalisa- 

 tions or in any way straining the facts, which are all too scanty, and 

 repeat that the observations are, at tliis stage, ol more im- 

 portance than the deductions drawn from them, if only as showing 

 the nature of the problems awaiting solution. 



It is to be hoped that opportunity may bo afforded of investi- 

 gating the matter more fully and of inaking additional observa- 

 tions. From a scientific, but most of all from a practical point of 

 view, this is of the greatest importance, not only as throwing 

 light on such practical questions as the migration, appearance and 

 disappearance of fishes of commercial value, but also on those unex- 

 pected and so far unexplained changes in currents, which have 

 been the cause of so many shipping disasters on tlie West Coast 



* Note.— Additional evidence on this point is afforded by (courses of drift 

 bottles, an account of which will be published shortly. 



