206 REPORT ON THE SURFACE DRIFT OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 



(neglecting, however, the three cases of drifts not exceeding twenty- 

 four hours' duration) we obtain the following results : — 



Direction. Jan. Feb. JIar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total. 

 Westward. — 3 2 3 5 1 ... 14 

 Eastward. — [all] 8 1 4 2 2 7 2 2 1 1... 30 



This table shows that the surface drift was markedly to the eastward 

 in March and August, and also to the eastward, although not so con- 

 spicuously so, in July and September. The drift was variable in 

 direction in April, May, June, and October, with a marked westward 

 preponderance in April and October. The evidence in regard to Novem- 

 ber and December is equivocal, oNving to the small number of recoveries 

 in these months, and to the long lapse of time between the recovery 

 of the bottles and the time when they were sent adrift. The drift in 

 February was clearly to the eastward, although no recoveries are 

 recorded for this month ; but the stranding near St. Alban's Head on 

 March 1st of a bottle which was put overboard near the Eddy stone on 

 January 29th leaves no doubt about the matter. 



There was, accordingly, for the whole year 1897, a preponderating 

 drift to the eastward in the English Channel, the proportion of east- 

 ward to westward drifts being as 30 : 14 This eastward movement of 

 the surface water attained its maximum in March and August, but was 

 strong in February, and not inconsiderable in July and September. In 

 October, on the other hand, a westward movement predominated, and 

 this was also distinct during parts of April. In May and June the 

 drift, as already remarked, was variable in direction. 



§ 2. The Direction of the Local Winds. — It is desirable at once to 

 compare these data with the direction and force of the wind during the 

 successive months of the year. On the upper line of the following 

 table I give the resultant wind for each month at Plymouth (which 

 may be taken roughly as representative of the general state of the 

 wind in the Channel) ; on the second line, the force of the resultant 

 wind ; and in the third and fourth lines I give an abstract of the monthly 

 summary concerning the winds of the British Islands as a whole from 

 the publications of the Meteorological Office. 



The great gale in November, which I specially mention, will be 

 remembered as that which, springing from the West, and veering to 

 N.W., caused immense damage on our east and south-east coasts, owing 

 to the exceptional height of the tide forced up. Cases of this kind are 

 important from our point of view, since the enormous volume of water 

 banked up along the coast has eventually to settle down to a uniform 

 level, and this process entails the formation of currents along the path 

 of least resistance which may be completely different from the direction 



