THE WIXDS OF THE OCEAN 49 



every favouring air, until the adjacent steady trade 

 was reached. 



This intervening space, whence most of the world's 

 supply of fresh water is derived by the marvellous 

 condensing machinery of the heavens, varies according 

 to the position of the sun north or south of the line, 

 as the popular phrase goes. That is to say, when the 

 sun at his meridian appears to be south of the equator, 

 the belt of calms and variable winds is narrowest on 

 the northern side of the imaginary line, and vice versa. 

 As, however, the South Atlantic is of much greater 

 area than the North, and consequently the celestial 

 influences we have noticed have so much greater 

 play, it follows that the South-East Trade Winds 

 are much more extended in their scope, as well as 

 much steadier in their force and direction, than the 

 North-East Trades, so much so that it is by no means 

 uncommon to find a steady south-east trade carrying a 

 vessel well north of the equator, even as far as ten 

 degrees north latitude; and I have known only one 

 day intervene between losing the south-east wind 

 which we had carried from within sight of Table 

 Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, and catching the 

 North-East Trade Wind, which sent us flying with our 

 yards braced almost sharp up well into the temperate 

 zone. But I admit that such an experience is 

 unusual. 



We must, however, turn to the South-East Trade 

 as experienced by the early navigators. They found 

 as they neared the land that it became less steady, 

 while, preserving its general direction, it was gusty 

 and variable ; but that, of course, troubled them little 

 once they were in sight of land. In those days of 



