448 OBSERVATIONS ON THE CUERENTS. 



therefore become incautious. It is to these we would particularly recom- 

 mend the perusal of this paper. The following extract fully corroborates 

 Captain Franklin's assertion : — " The morning of the 1st of August (says 

 Captain Lyon) was thick and foggy, with rain; at 10 a.m. we discovered, 

 tlirough the haze, our first piece of Ice, a small Berg of about 70 feet ; we 

 Boon passed this and several others, but saw no floe or brash ice, although 

 there was every reason to suppose that a pack was near, from the sudden 

 smoothness and change of temperature in the water, now at 32°, while 

 the air was at only 34°. Repeated observations of this kind have now 

 brought to a certainty the assertion, that the approach to Ice from an 

 open sea may be ascertained by the sudden change of the thermometer ; 

 and acting from past experience, I caused the more active look-out to be 

 kept, on observing it to fall suddenly this morning ; yet this change first 

 took place in a very thick fog, and we ran about 10 miles before the Icp 

 was seen." 



Captain Weddell recommends that, with a free side-wind, an Iceberg oi 

 Ice island should be passed on the windward side ; as by this means, the 

 loose ice, which always drifts farthest, is avoided. 



Warning of the vicinity of a Berg may often be obtained by means of 

 the echo of a steam whistle or any sharp noise. The roaring of the sea at 

 the base of a Berg may sometimes be heard at a considerable distance.* 



(457.) Season. — Ice generally begins to be a source of danger to Trans- 

 atlantic navigation during the month of February, and continues until the 

 end of August, though in some seasons it may occur earlier or later than 

 these months. May is the most dangerous month, and October and 

 November are marked by its all out complete absence. 



In 1890, the Ice appeared unusually early, and a vast number of 

 enormous Icebergs and Fields were reported. In January its Southern 

 limit was in lat. 45° N., long. 48° 30' W., about two months in advance of 

 the average. On January 5th, some bergs were seen in lat. 47° N., long. 

 45° W., and on the 21st, some were passed in lat. 44° N., long. 41° W. 



(458.) Limits. — These masses of Ice are seldom met with to the East- 

 ward of the meridian of 49° W., that is, about 300 miles beyond the limits 

 of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Near to the Banks they become 

 more numerous, and in some years the sea appears to be covered with 

 them, and vast numbers of Bergs ground on the Banks. 



Mr. W. G. Redtield, to whom the world is so largely indebted for his 

 researches in Meteorology and Physical Geography, published a pamphlet, 

 accompanied by a chart, upon the Ice of the North Atlantic Ocean. 

 In this he considers that the Gulf Stream passes over the cold Arctic 

 Current, which transports the deeply immersed Icebergs into and across 

 it. "No impulsion but that of a vast current, setting in a South- 

 Westerly direction, and passing beneath the Gulf Stream, could have 

 carried these immense bodies to their observed positions, on routes which 



* In addition to these precautions, we would call attention to the ingenious system 

 of Signals, devised by Captain W. H. Bates, whereby a vessel may readily communicate 

 to another passing, the existence and locality of Ice which may have been encountered. 

 One hoist of flags, of the International Code, is sufficient for a Signal. 



