130 H. A. LENEHAN. 



greatly diminish ; the change was not at once noticeable, 

 but after June 1903, there was a pronounced falling off. 

 Whereas, during the years 1899 to 1903 (inclusive), the 

 average papers received from January to July was 76 — 

 during 1904 the total readied for the same period was only 

 31 — nearly a 60°/° decrease. Perhaps at some future time 

 the distribution will again be taken up with renewed vigor. 

 Paper No. 8 contains 181 records, a greater number than 

 any previous paper published by the Sydney Observatory; 

 the nearest approach was No. 3 paper with 167. 



Several very valuable papers are here recorded. No. 976 

 I consider the most interesting. Cast adrift within a few 

 miles of the Californian coast of North America, perhaps 

 just outside the influence of the coastal inset, it has 

 travelled a distance of 11,350 miles — nearly semi-circum- 

 navigating the globe — before reaching its terminal point on 

 the island of Boillon in the Java Sea. It is the first record 

 received of the drift in that part of the North Pacific Ocean. 

 I presume that when the paper was put overboard, July 

 19th, 1901, winds were blowing off the land and so drove it 

 into the great North Pacific Drift. It was carried to the 

 south and thence along to the westward in latitudes 

 between 0° and 20° north, when it probably got into the 

 North Equatorial Current. From thence it has passed 

 through Malacca Straits to the spot where it was dis- 

 covered. The distance travelled creates a record for the 

 whole of the papers since the collection commenced. 



No. 936 is another interesting paper with both a long 

 and rapid drift. It was put off a few degrees south of the 

 Equator in Long. 88° 47' E. and threaded its way through 

 Torres Strait to the Solomon Islands. The locality it 

 passed through is a veritable network of reef's and islands. 

 The drift was 4,830 miles at a daily rate of 21*6 miles, the 

 fastest in this pamphlet. 



