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Part III — Eighteenth Annual Report 



Northumberland still later. The same result is shown in other cases. Of 

 ten set adrift on the same date, 22nd July 1896, four miles soufh-east of 

 Buchan Ness, Aberdeenshire, two were picked up at sea a few days later 

 (15 and 24 miles S.E. of Aberdeen), and other three on the coast of 

 Northumberland, 49, 51, and 57 days afterwards. On 5th May 1897 

 (287 days) one was found near Hantsholm, on the north-west coast of 

 Denmark, and another on 3rd August 1897 (after 377 days) between 

 Mandal and Christiansand on the south coast of Norway. Of ten put 

 adrift on the same date, 8 miles N.N.E. of Scarnose Point, Banffshire, 

 two were picked up on the adjoining coast to the south, a few days later; 

 another was found floating in the sea 65 miles N.E. by E. of Spurn Point, 

 Yorkshire, on 3rd December 1896, after an interval of 134 days; and a 

 third was got near Stromstad, in the north of the west coast of Sweden, 

 on 21st October 1897, after 456 days. In another case where ten bottles 

 were set adrift on 13th October 1896, 5 miles south-east of Girdleness, 

 Aberdeenshire, one was found at Whitby, in Yorkshire, 172 miles to the 

 south, after an interval of 100 days; another was found on 16th May 

 1897, after 215 days, at Sondervig, on the west coast of Denmark; a 

 third on 11th July 1897, after 271 days, at Romo, Schleswig; a fourth 

 on 6th August 1897, after 297 days, near Varde, on the southern part of 

 the west coast of Denmark ; and a fifth on 7th July, after 267 days, on 

 the west coast of Sweden. 



Advantage was taken of the ordinary steamer routes from the Firth of 

 Forth to the Continent to set off drifters at various parts of the North Sea, 

 and the results of many of those are included in the Tables. The lines 

 chosen were from Leith to the Naze of Norway, Leith to Hamburg, and 

 Leith to the Hook of Holland. Along the first-named lines, the 

 particulars that fall within the present paper are as follows: — On 21st 

 August 1896, a number of floats were thrown overboard at intervals 

 between the Isle of May and the Naze. Up to the distance of 100 miles 

 E. J S. of the Isle of May, several of those set adrift were recovered on 

 the coast of Northumberland, after periods which increased according to 

 the distance from the May, ranging from 21 to 161 days. Since then 

 others have been recovered on the coast of Denmark and Sweden — 

 namely, two on the coast of Denmark, near Nymindegab, after intervals 

 of 325 and 340 days, and two near Stromstad, on the west coast of Sweden, 

 on 20th and 26th January 1898, after intervals of 517 and 523 days. 

 Of those put out on this voyage at a distance greater than 100 miles from 

 the Isle of May, only two have been recovered; one, set adrift at 130 

 miles, found after 150 days at the Lofoten Islands, 740 miles distant, 

 and showing a drift at the rate of 4'9 geographical miles in the 24 hours ; 

 the other, set adrift at 250 miles, found also on the coast of Norway, much 

 further to the south (Bommel Island, S. Bergenhus), after an interval of 

 55 days and showing an apparent drift of 2' 6 geographical miles per day. 



The second series on this route were dispersed on the 23rd October 

 1896. Two of those set adrift 50 miles E. J S. from the May Isle were 

 found 93 days later on the coast of Durham ; three at 75 miles were 

 recovered, one after 326 days on the west coast of Denmark, and the 

 other two on the west coast of Sweden after the lapse of 341 and 428 

 days respectively. Of those set adrift at 100 miles, none have been 

 recovered from the English coast ; one was found at the Shetland Isles 

 153 days after, one on the west coast of Denmark after 263 days, and a 

 third near Stavanger, on the coast of Norway, after 315 days. The 

 aberrant case of the Shetland drifter was no doubt due to the remarkable 

 reversal of the current in January 1897.* 



* Ihld p. 361. 



