VOL. XVI.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 321 



1. That near the coast of Africa, as soon as you have passed the Canary isles 

 you are sure to meet a fresh gale of wind at N. E. about the latitude of 28° 

 north, which seldom comes to the eastward of the E. N. E. or passes the N. N. 

 E. This wind accompanies those ships bound to the southward, to the latitude 

 of 10° north, and about 100 leagues from the Guinea coast, where, till about 

 the 4th degree of north latitude, they fall into calms and tornadoes. 



2. That those bound to the Caribbee isles find, as they approach the Ame- 

 rican side, that the said N. E. wind becomes still more and more easterly, so as 

 sometimes to be east, sometimes east by south, but yet most commonly to the 

 northward of the east a point or two, seldom more. It is likewise observed, 

 that the strength of these winds gradually decreases, as you sail to the west- 

 ward. 



3. That the limits of the trade and variable winds in this ocean are farther 

 extended on the American side than on the African : for whereas you meet not 

 with this certain wind till after passing the latitude of 28° on this side ; on the 

 American side it commonly holds to 30, 31, or 32° of latitude ; and this is like- 

 wise verified to the southward of the equinoctial ; for near the Cape of Good 

 Hope, the limits of the trade winds are 3 or 4° nearer the line than on the coast 

 of Brasil. 



4. That from the latitude of 4° north to the said limits on the south side of 

 the equator, the winds are generally and perpetually between the south and east, 

 and most commonly between the south-east and east ; observing always this 

 rule, that on the African side they are more southerly, on the Brasilian more 

 easterly, so as to become almost due east, the little deflection they have being 

 still to the southward. In this part of the ocean, I found the winds constantly 

 about the south-east, the most usual point south-east by east ; when it was 

 easterly it generally blew hard, and was gloomy, dark, and sometimes rainy 

 weather ; if it came to the southward it was generally serene, and a small gale 

 next to a calm, but this not very common. But I never observed it to the 

 westward of the south, or northward of the east. 



5. That the season of the year has some small effect on these trade winds ; 

 for when the sun is considerably to the northward of the equator, the south-east 

 winds, especially in the strait of this ocean, between Brasil and the coast of 

 Guinea, vary a point or two to the southward, and the north-east become more 

 easterly ; and, on the contrary, when the sun is towards the tropic of Capricorn, 

 the south easterly winds become more easterly, and the north easterly winds on 

 this side the line veer more to the northward. 



6. That as there is no general rule but admits of some exception, so there is 

 in this ocean a tract of sea, wherein the southerly and south-west winds are per- 



VQL. lU. X T 



