103 COUNCIL — JULY 1905 — APPEND. F 
of origin. 51 attained considerable distances, indicating a course northward, past 
Smith’s Knoll and the Swarte Bank; from there NE by W to the Botney Gut (about 
lat. 53° 45’ N, long. 3° E); and then eastward along the parallel of latitude to long. 4° 40’. 
Dividing the cards roughly into groups: 24 were picked up in the neigh- 
bourhood of Smith’s Knoll, 9 off the Swarte Bank, 10 about the Botney Gut, and 
8 about lat. 53° 45’ N, long. 4° A0'E. 
The first bottles picked up in each district show the following times: 
Date Time elapsed Miles per day 
20 miles N of point of origin ............. Dec. 4 18 days 1-1 
Off Smith’s Knoll, 50 milesN ............ Jan. {st 46 — 1-4 
Off Swarte Bank, 75 milesN............. April 8 144 — 0:52 
Botney Gut (53° 45’ N, 2°45'E), 90 milesN byE April 24 137 — 0:66 
(Assuming this had been reached by Swarte 
Banke—105miles nr een. April 24 137 — 0:77) 
Lat. 53°45'N, long. 4° 15'E, 105 miles NE. May 93" 190 — 0:55 
(Assuming this had been reached by Swarte 
Bank and Botney Gut — 155 miles.... May 234 190 — 0:81) 
Mr. Garsranc very kindly, while I was ill, placed for me 270 bottles across 
from Texel to Leman Hight, but I have not yet been able to analyse the results. 
Tt will be seen that those given above favour the existence of a closed eddy 
crossing from the Continent to England about lat. 59° 15’N and from England to 
the Continent about lat. 53° 45’ N, with a velocity of probably not less than one 
sea-mile a day. 
If this be confirmed, its importance with regard to the migrations of flat- 
fish is obvious. 
I propose, with the approval of the Council, to send to Dr. Horx a full 
account of the design and construction of the trailers, with some specimens; and 
the Marine Biological Association will be able to furnish from their Plymouth 
Laboratory further trailers of the same design. The experiments now in progress 
will, I hope, show whether a lightening of the bottle by the weight of about 1/2 a 
gramme may not be attended with increased speed, without any indication of floating. 
From the results above recounted may be noted the extreme desirability of 
using considerable numbers at once. The statement of a single trawler-captain is 
evidence of a not very high order of accuracy, the independent and agreeing 
evidence of ten such captains is certainty. 
It is noticeable that as yet I have received none of these bottles from the shore. 
Nordrach—upon—Mendip. Blagdon, Bristol. July 18th, 1905. 
Gro. B. Bipper 
