THE GULF STREAM AS A REFUGE. 67 



these places and the United States, and it will be 

 seen that the annual sum saved will swell to an 

 enormous amount." 



Before the existence of the Gulf Stream was as- 

 certained, vessels were frequently drifted far out of 

 their course in cloudy or foggy weather, without the 

 fact being known, until the clearing away of the 

 mists enabled the navigators to ascertain their posi- 

 tion by solar observation. Now, not only the ex- 

 istence, but the exact limits and action of this 

 stream are known and mapped; so that the current, 

 which was formerly a hindrance to navigation, is 

 now made to be a help to it. The line of demarca- 

 tion between the warm waters of the Gulf Stream 

 and the cold waters of the sea is so sharp and dis- 

 tinct, that by the use of the thermometer the pre- 

 cise minute of a ship's leaving or entering it can be 

 ascertained. And by the simple application of the 

 thermometer to the Gulf Stream the average pas- 

 sage from England to America has been reduced 

 from upwards of eight weeks to little more than four ! 



But this wonderful current is useful to navigators 

 in more ways than one. Its waters, being warm, 

 carry a mild climate along with them through the 

 ocean even in the depth of winter, and thus afford 

 a region of shelter to vessels when attempting to 

 make the Atlantic coast of North America, which 

 at that season is swept by furious storms and chilled 

 by bitter frosts. The Atlantic coasts of the United 

 States are considered to be the most stormy in 



