52 OUR HERITAGE THE SEA 



or from west to south-west. Northerly and southerly 

 winds, even with easting in them, blow hard too, but 

 not for long ; and although the easterly wind will 

 sometimes persist in a wonderful way, it is but seldom 

 that it reaches the force of a gale. The westerlies, 

 however, may not only be depended upon for their 

 frequency, but for their force, and it is no uncommon 

 thing for a sailing ship to run very nearly across the 

 Atlantic before a heavy westerly gale, which seems as 

 if it could not blow itself out. Still, the west winds 

 have their zone, and north of it there is little or no 

 continuity in the direction of the wind ; it may blow 

 in any direction, and be as violent in one direction as 

 another. This unsteadiness in the farther north may 

 be accounted for by the interference of land, which has, 

 of course, a great influence upon the wind blowing 

 near the surface of the earth, while the upper currents 

 obey other influences with which we are as yet but 

 imperfectly acquainted. 



This prevailing wind, before the advent of steam, 

 had a very great effect upon navigation from the time 

 of its discovery, making the return passage from the 

 North American continent always a fairly rapid and 

 certain one, as compared with the slow and difficult 

 outward journey, necessitating a great detour to escape 

 the full force of the opposite gales. Even now, in 

 these days of high-powered steamships, although they 

 do not go out of their way to avoid the westerlies, they 

 are often greatly hindered by them, for it needs no 

 argument to show how tremendous is the force with 

 which a great steamship is thrust against by a gale 

 dead in her teeth. Still, the wonderful regularity with 

 which these vessels make their passages both ways 



