160 BRYANT — DRIFT CASKS IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. [Aprils, 



consistent set of conditions which may be explicable from a meteor- 

 ological standpoint. The published weather charts show that there 

 is an area of low barometric pressure where a cyclonic disturbance 

 takes place whose centre in summer time is well north of Bering 

 Strait, and which in yielding to seasonal changes drops down at 

 the approach of winter to a region south of Bering Strait. 



Thus in the summer months this centre of disturbance would be 

 north of the position occupied by the Jeannette, and winds in fol- 

 lowing their accepted course from west to east would naturally be 

 drawn in and approach the cyclonic area from the southeast, caus- 

 ing the continuous gales referred to by Admiral Melville. 



Meteorologists also refer to the existence of a centre of cyclonic 

 disturbance between the 70th and 80th parallels of north latitude, 

 which, following the general law, progresses with the seasons on a 

 more or less uniform path from west to east around the Polar basin. 

 The presence of this moving centre of attraction (if it is accepted 

 as an existent factor in circumpolar meteorology) must exert a con- 

 trolling-influence on the winds of this region, and it follows as a 

 logical sequence that the direction of the ocean currents must be 

 regulated by the same phenomena. Without claiming any special 

 knowledge of this branch of the subject, it occurs to me that in 

 this connection we may find an explanation of the existence of 

 more or less constant winds at certain times of the year in the re- 

 gion referred to, and in these phenomena may lie the interpretation 

 of the reality and constancy of the great Polar current. 



With the generous cooperation of the various agencies men- 

 tioned, the drift-cask experiment has been successfully inaugurated. 

 It is our intention to bespeak the aid of the U. S. Consuls in 

 northern Europe likely to come in contact with seafaring people 

 who may visit the northern waters where these casks may eventually 

 put in an appearance. It is hoped that such publicity will be given 

 to the project, that when the time arrives for these inanimate mes- 

 sengers to appear in waters frequented by men, a certain percentage 

 of them may be recovered and reported upon. 



We look forward with keen interest to the outcome of the present 

 campaign of the gallant Peary, and to the efforts of the superbly 

 equipped Baldwin-Ziegler expedition in its attack on the Pole. 



To the Norwegian expedition under Sverdrup and the Russian 

 one under Baron Toll, we also wish a full measure of success. And 

 we trust all these explorers will return with important contributions 

 to our knowledge of the far North. 



