of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



347 



of the coast of Forfarshire, and east of the mouth of the river Tay j and 

 also at distances of from five to thirteen miles off Scurdy Ness, near 

 Montrose. The former drifters, in nearly every case, travelled south and 

 somewhat west, striking the eastern part of the coast of Fife and the coast 

 of East Lothian. This was also the course of the majority which were put 

 into the sea off Scurdy Ness. In both cases, however, and especially in 

 the latter^ some were stranded on the English coast. 



Taking the groups put in at various parts of the east const, we 

 find their destination was as follows : — Of twenty-three set adrift at 

 distances ranging from about four to twenty miles off Buchan Ness, 

 Aberdeenshire, throe (put in four miles off) were found on the coast of 

 Aberdeen, two were picked up at sea by fishing-boats 24 and 26 miles 

 further south, eight and ten days afterwards, six were found on the 

 coast of Northumberland, one in Yorkshire, one on the west coast of 

 Germany, five in Denmark, and five in Norway. Of eleven set adrift, 

 about twenty miles further south, namely, from ten to twelve miles off 

 Girdle Ness,' otie was recovered on the coast of Forfarshire, two in East 

 Lothian, one in Yorkshire, one in Holland, one in Denmark, and four in 

 Norway. Of seven set adrift further south, at from four to eighteen miles 

 off Stonehaven, three were found in Northumberland, one in Durham, and 

 three in Denmark. 



Of five put away off Bervie, Kincardineshire, one was found in Fife, 

 otie in Northumberland, and three in Norway. Of ten set adrift off 

 Scurdy Ness, near Montrose, Forfarshire, three were recovered in Fife 

 one in East Lothian, two in Yorkshire, two in Holland, one in Denmark, 

 and one in Norway. Still further south, iu the vicinity of the Bell Rock 

 Lighthouse, forty-two of those set adrift were recovered j namely, seven in 

 Fife, twenty-three in East Lothian, four in Berwickshire, three in North- 

 umberland, one in Durham, two in Yorkshire, one in Lincolnshire, and 

 one in Holland. 



Of thirty-five of those recovered, which were set adrift at from about 

 three to twenty miles east and south-east of the Isle of May, three were 

 found in East Lothian, one in Northumberland, four in Durham, nine on 

 the coast of Yorkshire, one was picked up at sea off the Yorkshire coast, 

 and two were found on the west coast of Germany, twelve in Denmark, 

 one in Sweden, and two in Norway. 



By drawing lines on a chart between the points where the bottles 

 were set adrift and where they were found, the general and preponderating 

 movement southward is clearly revealed. In some of the cases where the 

 drifters were found on the Norwegian coast there is evidence that they 

 were driven rapidly with the surface waters north-eastwards by strong 

 south-west winds blowing almost continuously while they were afloat as in 

 November 1894 (see PI. XI. figs. 1, 2, 3). But, in the majority of cases, 

 the drifters which reached the Continent were first carried southwards 

 along the Scotch and English coast. This is shown by a large number of 

 cases in which some of the bottles of one and the same lot were stranded 

 on the English coast, while others were picked up later on the coast of 

 Denmark, and later still on the Swedish or Norwegian coast. Some of 

 tiiese may be referred to. 



The English Coast and the Continent. 



Three bottles were set adrift in the Firth of Forth on 23rd November 

 1894; one was found on 17th February 1895, on the Yorkshire coast; 

 and another on the 20th July, near Ording in Schleswig, Germany. A 

 few days later — on 28th November 1894 — five were set adrift three miles 



