60 



PLANTS, SEEDS, AND CURRENTS 



Guiana Current, running northward to the West Indies, and the 

 Brazil Current (the smaller of the two), flowing southward along 

 the coast of South Brazil. But by some the distinction is made in 

 mid- Atlantic between the Main Equatorial Current, which is known 

 as the Guiana Current as it approaches the West Indian region, and 

 the South Equatorial Current, which is known as the Brazil Current 

 when it turns to the south of Cape San Roque. This distinction is 

 accepted in this work, and reasons are adduced in Note 18 of the 

 Appendix in support of the view that the differentiation already 

 exists in mid- Atlantic, the island of Ascension being situated within 

 the northern or main stream and that of St. Helena within the 

 southern stream. Thus regarded, the Main Equatorial courses 

 westward from the Gulf of Guinea between the parallels of 2° N. and 

 10° S., whilst the South Equatorial flows west in the Central Atlantic 

 between the parallels of 10° and 20° S. 



Though these currents are contiguous in mid-ocean, they have 

 different origins and, of course, different destinations. The Main 

 Equatorial in its birthplace in the Gulf of Guinea is fed by the 

 Guinea Current on its north side, and on its south side by the inshore 

 waters of the South African Current. It proceeds north of Cape 

 St. Roque to the West Indies, following the trend of the coasts of 

 North Brazil, the Guianas and Eastern Venezuela, and gathering 

 drift on its way not only from those shores, but from the Amazon, 

 the rivers of the Guianas, and the Orinoco. On the other hand, the 

 South Equatorial Current may be regarded as fed by the off-shore 

 or outside waters of the South African Current, and probably carries 

 less African drift. As it crosses the Atlantic it includes St. Helena, 

 but not Ascension, within its zone. It is then deflected south of 

 Cape St. Roque and flows down the coast of Brazil, finally gathering 

 the drift of the Rio de la Plata. Then, blending with the South 

 Atlantic Connecting Current, its waters make the return journey past 

 Tristan da Cunha to the South-west African coasts. It should, 

 however, be noted that some of the waters of the Brazil Current 

 probably flow southward to unite with those of the West Wind 

 Drift Current, the easterly surface-current of the "Roaring Forties." 

 In this manner South American drift would be carried eastward 

 towards Australia. 



The Transport of Bottle-drift in the Main Equatorial 

 Current. — Having thus described the view of the current system in 

 the South Atlantic which is adopted in these pages, I will proceed to 

 deal with the indications of the bottle-drift in the case of the Main 

 Equatorial Current. Generally speaking, whilst the mass of this 

 bottle-drift of the North Equatorial Current strikes the W T est Indies 

 to the north of Barbados and St. Vincent, most of the drift of the 

 Main Equatorial Current enters the West Indian region to the south 

 of those islands. Many of the bottles brought by the southern 

 current — about 30 per cent. — are stranded on the coasts of Trinidad 

 and Tobago and on the Venezuelan shores of the Gulf of Paria. 

 The others are either thrown up on the isles of the Lesser Antilles, 

 mainly in the south, or pass between them into the Caribbean Sea, 

 where they mingle with the bottle-drift of the North Equatorial 



