The Drift of Floating Bottles 



337 



not be forgotten when we deal with the 

 advantages of geograph3^ Much infor- 

 mation of high value is offered through 

 it to the student. Economic and social 

 problems, questions of government and 

 constitution, which when treated in an 

 abstract and theoretical way will often 

 fall short of the understanding, as well 

 as of the interest of young brains, find 

 here wonderful material for exemplifi- 

 cation, object-lessons in public life, poli- 



tics, economy, and sociology. Enormous 

 treasures lie hidden here, waiting onl}^ 

 for the right digger to discover them. 

 In a country where interest in public 

 affairs is so strong as in this great Re- 

 public, this duty of the schools should be 

 cherished most conscientiously. Geog- 

 raphy should be given the place which 

 it deserves, not onl}' in elementary in- 

 struction, but also in all high schools 

 and universities. 



THE DRIFT OF FLOATING BOTTLES IN 

 THE PACIFIC OCEAN 



By James Page, U. S. Hydrographic Office 



AMONG the various investigations 

 carried on by the U. S. Hydro- 

 graphic OfQce, there is one which 

 has always excited greater or less pop- 

 ular interest, owing probably to the fact 

 that it lies within the power of any one 

 who is at sea, and who is likewise gifted 

 with a reasonable amount of curiosit}^ 

 and the leisure time to gratif}^ it, to con- 

 tribute toward the end in view. This 

 particular field of research is the inves- 

 tigation of the surface currents of the 

 sea by means of the knowledge obtained 

 through the drift of floating bottles, or, 

 as it is familiarly known, the drift of 

 bottle papers. The apparatus required 

 is not extensive. The date, the lati- 

 tude, and the longitude of the vessel at 

 any given time are written upon a piece 

 of paper ; this paper is then placed in 

 an empty bottle of whatever character 

 is nearest to hand ; the bottle is then 

 corked and sealed and cast into the sea. 

 After the lapse of time, sometimes of 

 3^ears, certain of these bottles find their 

 way to the coasts of the adjacent con- 

 tinents or islands, and the papers, con- 

 tained in them ultimately reach the U.S. 

 Hydrographic Office. 



The office assists in the investigation 

 to the extent of furnishing the pieces of 

 paper. These are prepared in blocks, 

 and are distributed free of charge to the 

 masters of vessels who promise to under- 

 take the task of casting them adrift — a 

 promise which, the results prove, is 

 rarely violated. The paper is printed 

 in seven languages in order that it may 

 be readil}' understood, no matter upon 

 what coast it ultimately lands. The 

 first part, which is to be filled in by the 

 person who casts it adrift, contains a 

 space for the name of that person, for the 

 name of the vessel, the date, the latitude^ 

 and the longitude ; the second part, 

 which is to be filled in by the discoverer 

 of the bottle, a space for the name of the 

 finder, the date, and the locality in which 

 it is found. At the bottom of the paper 

 the finder is instructed, in seven lan- 

 guages, to return the paper to the U. S. 

 Hydrographic Office. 



Several hundred of these papers find 

 their way back each year, the great ma- 

 jority of those which are returned hav- 

 ing been cast adrift in the Atlantic 

 Ocean, and charts have from year to 

 3^ear appeared showing the drift of bot- 



