204 REPORT ON THE SURFACE DRIFT OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 



the former group of experiments approaches completeness, and in 

 the subsequent discussion of the results I shall deal more particularly 

 with this area. 



In the course of the year 430 bottles were sent adrift in 53 batches 

 in the English Channel, and 117 bottles belonging to 40 batches have 

 been recovered up to the present time (Feb. 28, 1898). Thus 27 % of 

 the bottles, or rather less than one-third, have been recovered from the 

 Channel lots. 



In the Irish Sea and St. George's Channel 36 bottles were sent adrift 

 in 6 batches, all on the 30th of March, and 20 bottles, representing all 

 six batches, have been recovered. This gives the high percentage of. 

 55, or rather more than half of the total number put out. 



The total percentage of recoveries from both areas combined is 

 29-4 %. 



1. The English Channel and North Sea. 



§ 1. The Direction of Drift. — The general direction and rate of the 

 surface drift in this area are well seen by reference to Table I., batch 

 no. III. Out of 27 bottles sent adrift near the Eddy stone in the latter 

 part of January, 10 have been recovered, and these were picked up at 

 places successively further away to the E. and N.E., the only break 

 in the sequence being the recovery of a bottle at Tersclielling on August 

 15th, twelve days after a bottle had been found at Schiermonnikoog, 

 40 miles to the eastward. The general rate of drift is seen from the 

 table to be about 3 miles a day, which yields about 90 miles a month. 

 Ejellbacka, on the west coast of Sweden, was reached in October — a 

 distance of over 900 miles — in little more than nine months. 



The regularity of this drift to the north-eastward is, however, 

 frequently departed from ; for example, out of six bottles sent adrift 

 off the Lizard on March 31st (batch no. XXX.) two bottles were picked 

 up at Sennen Cove, situated round the corner of Land's End, on April 

 6th — a journey of 35 miles to the westward in six days, at an average 

 rate of nearly six miles a day. 



Again, a drift may begin in one direction and end in another, as 

 is shown very clearly by batch no. XL. In this case bottles put out 

 near the Eddy stone on May 11th went westwards to Mounts Bay, 

 arriving at Penzance on June 2nd ; they then rounded the Land's End 

 and arrived at Croyde, on the north coast of Devon, three weeks later. 

 Here their progress appears to have been arrested, and apparently a 

 retrograde movement set in, for on August 20th a bottle was picked up 

 at Bude, in North Cornwall, and — still more remarkable — another was 

 recovered at Eastbourne three months later. 



