IS THE GULF STREAM A MYTH? I2/ 



thus afforded were carefully compared and discussed. 

 The results show that within these latitudes and on 

 the average the wind from the north-east is in excess 

 of the winds from the south-west only 111 days out of 

 the 365. Now, can the north-east trades,' he pertinently 

 asks, l by blowing for less than one-third of the time, 

 cause the Grulf Stream to run all the time, and without 

 varying its velocity either to their force or to their 

 prevalence ? ' 



And besides this, we have to consider that no part 

 of the Grulf Stream flows strictly before the trade- 

 winds. Where the current flows most rapidly, namely, 

 in the Narrows of Bernini, it sets against the wind, and 

 for hundreds of miles after it enters the Atlantic ( it 

 runs,' says Maury, right in the " wind's eye." ' It 

 must be remembered that a current of air directed 

 with considerable force against the surface of still 

 water has not the power of generating a current which 

 can force its way far through the resisting fluid. If 

 this were so, we might understand how the current, 

 originating in sub-tropical regions, could force its way 

 onward after the moving force had ceased to act upon 

 it, and even carry its waters right against the wind, 

 after leaving the Gulf of Mexico. But experience 

 is wholly opposed to this view. The most energetic 

 currents are quickly dispersed when they reach a 

 wide expanse of still water. For example, the 

 Niagara below the falls is an immense and rapid 

 river. Yet when it reaches Lake Ontario, ' instead of 

 preserving its character as a distinct and well-defined 



