216 



With regard to the bearing of these observations on the cui'- 

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

 only does !i considerable body of the warm Agulhas current flow 

 into False Bay, thus accounting for the higher temperature there 

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

 that a large portion escapes round the Cape Peninsula, ]»asses close 

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

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

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

 influenced by tlie 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 tliis region it is evident that there is 

 considerable commingling of the currents. 



As the E(iuatorial current, passing soutli along and round the 

 coast of Africa, is successively called the Mozambique and Agul- 

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

 passing up the AVest 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 this stage, of more im- 

 portance than the (ieductions drawu from them, if only as showing 

 the nature of the problems awaiting solution. 



It is to be lioped that opportunity may be afforded of investi- 

 gating the matter more fully and of luaking 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, l)ut also on those unex- 

 pected and so far unexplained changes in currents, which have 

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



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

 bottles, an account of which will be published shorhly. 



