CURRENTS OF THE SEA. 



145 



" The counter currents, or those which return beneath the sur- 

 face of the water, are also very remarkable ; in some parts of 

 the Archipelago they are at times so strong as to prevent the 

 steering of the ship ; and, in one instance, on sinking the lead, 

 when the sea was calm and clear, with shreds of bunting of vari- 

 ous colors attached to every yard of the hne, they pointed in dif- 

 ferent directions all round the compass." 



These shreds of bunting probably " tailed out" straight from 

 the line, not in consequence of currents, but by reason of their 

 specific gravity, and their tendency to lie straight out from, rather 

 than to coil around, the line. At any rate, it is an interesting ex- 

 periment, and I hope some of those noble-hearted mariners who 

 are co-operating with me in collecting facts concerning the phys- 

 ical laws of the sea will avail themselves of calms to repeat the 

 experiment. A submarine kite — that is, a contrivance upon the 

 principle of a boy's kite in the air — let down at various depths in 

 the sea, would indicate both the direction and force of the under 

 currents. 



K 



