MADEIRA. 
protection of Him whom all hands had been called to worship, and 
the admonition was well calculated to do us all good. 
Orders were now given to rendezvous, in case of separation, at 
Madeira. It was soon found, in the trial of the sailing qualities of 
the vessels, that the Relief was unsuited to act with the rest without 
great detention, and after four days I determined to part company 
with her, giving her orders to proceed to the Cape de Verdes. 
The novelty of our situation was quite enough to interest all ; free 
communications were had, and endeavours were made to excite a 
general interest in all the objects that were passing about us. It was 
amusing to see all entering into the novel occupation of dissecting 
the fish taken, and to hear scientific names bandied about between 
Jack and his shipmates. 
On the 25th I began the trial of the current with the current-log; 
and experiments by sinking a white object to ascertain the distance 
to which the solar light penetrates the sea. Our current-log was 
formed of two small kegs with a distance-line between them of five 
fathoms, and the log-line fastened to the middle of it. One keg is 
made heavy enough to sink another air-tight one just beneath the 
surface of the water, so that we get the current uninfluenced by 
wind, and all the other circumstances that would affect the ship and 
not the surface current. I adopted for the other experiments the 
usual sea anchor for a boat, viz., an iron pot, painting the bottom of 
it white. The depths were noted when it was lost sight of, and 
when it was again seen, and the mean of these depths was taken for 
the result. 
From our position in latitude 36° 08' N., longitude 71° 24' W., 
and the temperature of the water, we knew we were on the edge of 
the Gulf Stream; and we experienced what I presume has been 
called the eddy current. It was found setting to the west and 
northwest, but ought more properly to be termed an indraught to 
the Stream. I am little disposed to believe that a southerly current 
exists, as has been reported, like the inner one. We had a fine 
opportunity of examining the temperature of the Stream, as we 
crossed it at right angles to its course, and the thermometer was 
observed hourly while making little progress through the water : the 
maximum temperature of the water was found to be 83°, and width 
of the Stream about fifty-three miles; much information might be 
acquired by a series of experiments in the Gulf Stream, which would 
tend to perfect the navigation and shorten the passage between the 
