*,. 



134 OUR HERITAGE THE SEA 



wrong. These seasonal winds have, of course, a great 

 effect upon the circulation of this enclosed ocean, but 

 owing to the great wedge of Hindostan being thrust 

 down between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, 

 they exert it in erratic fashion. In the south part of 

 the Indian Ocean, the South-East Trade blows with 

 fair regularity, but its limits are much circumscribed 

 as compared with their extent in the other oceans, and 

 in consequence its influence upon the currents is very 

 much less. Moreover, the Southern Indian Ocean 

 has the ominous notoriety of being more subject to 

 hurricanes or cyclones than any other part of the 

 world, and when these truly terrible atmospheric dis- 

 turbances occur, they exert so mighty a force upon 

 the ocean's surface that they upset the regular current 

 circulation for a long time. 



But in spite of all the perplexity of the Indian 

 Ocean currents, the general trend of them culminates 

 in a steady stream, which, sweeping southward between 

 Madagascar and the African mainland, rushes right 

 round the Cape of Good Hope until met by the great 

 Antarctic drift again, and being forced backwards, 

 recurves and runs parallel with the barrier of cold 

 water to the eastward. It is of incalculable service 

 to the sailing ships homeward bound from India, who 

 keep close enough in to the African land to avoid the 

 counter current, and are thus carried round the Cape 

 of Storms, no matter what the direction of the wind 

 may be. It is here known as the Agulhas current, 

 and under this name is held in affectionate remembrance 

 by many an old sailor for its invaluable assistance to 

 him in getting round the Cape and into fine weather 

 on the other side of that grim promontory. 



