346 NAVIGATION. 



south-westerly direction ; soon after, about south-south- 

 west one-half west nearly to its southern extremity. Here 

 also the current follows its concave outline, taking a south- 

 westerly course in long. 24° east ; and from 23° east it gen- 

 erally sets about south-west-by-south to the southern ex- 

 tremity of the bank in long. 21|° or 22° east. The velocity 

 of the' current is greatest from long. 25° to 22° east, along 

 that part of the bank which takes the most southerly direc- 

 tion. At the southern extremity of the bank it seldom runs 

 strong beyond lat. 36io south, or to the westward of long. 

 21° east." An easterly or contra current is sometimes felt 

 to the southward of soundings on the Cape Bank. By the 

 help of the westerly current, ships get round the Cape in 

 the winter months against the north-westerly gales which 

 then prevail, generally blowing with great fury for two or 

 three days together ; the wind then veers to the southward 

 and westward, — then to south-east, where it lulls. After 

 this a favourable spurt from the eastvpard is experienced, of 

 which advantage should be taken to place the ship in a 

 situation on the bank most favourable for the westerly 

 current. 



A few remarks on the marine barometer may be useful 

 here ; for there is no part of the world where this valuable 

 instrument acts so truly as off the Cape. It gives certain 

 indication of the north-westerly gales by a rapid fall of the 

 mercury, and it often does this when the weather is per- 

 fectly serene ; its warning ought never to be disregarded. In 

 the southern hemisphere the mercury rises with southerly, 

 and falls with northerly winds. During light winds from 

 the south-eastward, after a gale off the Cape, it commonly 

 stands high, and a considerable fall takes place when the 

 wind veers to the north-east, although no gale should fol- 

 low. This merely results from the change of temperature, 

 — the northerly winds being warmer than those proceeding 

 from the frozen regions round the south pole. If the mer- 

 cury continues to fall after the breeze is settled from the 

 northward, then more wind may certainly be expected. 

 During the heaviest gale the writer of this article ever ex- 

 perienced off the Cape, the mercury stood as low as 28.98. 



Before proceeding to notice the different routes to India, 

 it will be needful to give a general description of the trade- 

 winds and monsoons in the Indian seas. 



