in the Twenty Years before 1895 83 



Azores. The result of his work is to prove the existence 

 of a circular drift current round the central basin of the North 

 Atlantic. In districts where the currents are strong, much 

 valuable information can be obtained from floats. In the 

 "Buccaneer," when exploring the Gulf of Guinea, Mr Little, 

 the first officer, threw a bottle overboard every day at i P.M., 

 and the few that were picked up and returned show 

 conclusively the different motion of these waters in different 

 month-. 



The tidal influence on oceanic currents which was shown 



by the observations in the "Challenger" has since received 



confirmation, notably by the Americans in the Gulf 



m. It is impossible, in a short paper like the present, 



to go into all the work that has been done in this way, and that 



Americans alone fills volumes. We have chiefly to 



consider what has still to be done, and how to do it. 



markable paper on this subject has been communicated 

 to the Congress by Captain Anthony S. Thomson, C.B., R.N.R., 

 with whom I was associated in the "Buccaneer" in the explora- 

 tion of the Gulf of Guinea, where several attempts were made 

 to determine the currents, both surface and under currents, 

 in that interesting region. Captain Thomson's paper falls 

 parts. The first deals with the probable causes of 

 ocean currents, and it is quite possible that many will hesitate 

 to accept them unreservedly. The second part, ho\v 

 deals in detail with the method by which a satisfactory survey 

 of tin- currents existing in any locality far from land can best 

 be m.ide. Here Captain Thomson's record and experience give 



value to what he may say on this subject. 



paper will be lead to the Coi .Mid it will be convenient 



which I mav have to make on the subject 



I will only point out here that observa- 



OCean ;n the sense hen- meant, cannot \\itli 



t !>' directed by any one but a thoroughly e\p<-ri 



tor, and unless he is one. like Captain 

 who loves navigation as a fine art, he will lanlv 



::o t hiiMiu'h with the fie.pn: 



the close attention to all the details 



6i 



