202 REPORT ON THE SURFACE DRIFT OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 



Most of the drift-bottles have been put overboard in the neighbour- 

 hood of the Eddystone by different members of the scientific staff of 

 the Marine Biological Association in the ordinary course of their 

 trawling and dredging excursions ; but, as the Busy Bee is incapable 

 of making long journeys far from land, we have always been glad to 

 accept the services of others who have kindly come to our assistance in 

 this part of the work. We are under a particular debt of gratitude to 

 Admiral the Hon. Sir E. E. Fremantle, k.c.b., c.m.g., in this connection. 

 He very kindly permitted the distribution of a number of the bottles 

 among the torpedo-boat destroyers cruising from Devonport, and to 

 him, to Commander Shirley, of H.M.S. Decoy, and to the command- 

 ing officers of H.M.S. Lynx, H.M.S. Skate, H.M.S. Simfish, H.M.S. 

 Opossum, and H.M.S. Ferret, we desire to express our warm thanks 

 for the material assistance they rendered us in this part of the work. 



We are also indebted to H. E. M. Studdy, Esq., and other yachtsmen, 

 for similar assistance kindly given us. 



It gives us particular pleasure to thank the officers and boatmen of 

 H.M. Coastguard at innumerable points along the coast for the prompti- 

 tude with which they have returned the post cards to us upon the 

 recovery of any bottles. We owe a very considerable number of our 

 records to the vigilance of the members of this efficient branch of the 

 service. 



We desire also to thank the numerous private individuals and fisher- 

 men, both home and foreign, who have increased the value of these 

 experiments by properly inscribing and returning the post cards con- 

 tained in bottles they have found, and for the information they have 

 always been willing to convey in reply to our inquiries. 



For the meteorological work of this report I have received valuable 

 data from Edward Kitto, Esq., Superintendent of the Falmouth 

 Observatory ; C. E. Peek, Esq., Superintendent of the Eousdon Observa- 

 tory, Lyme Regis; Alfred Chandler, Esq., Borough Meteorologist, 

 Torquay; and H. Victor Prigg, Esq., Meteorologist to the Borough 

 of Plymouth. To these gentlemen I beg to convey my warm thanks 

 for their assistance, which has been generously given. 



II. The Drift-bottles. 



Various objects have been employed by different investigators in 

 their experiments upon surface currents. The Prince of INIonaco 

 employed small floating vessels of copper, specially prepared, but their 

 fitness to indicate accurately the course of surface currents has been 

 criticised owing to the ease with which they could be propelled at the 

 surface of the water by the direct action of the winds. Any small 



