1898-99.] Admiral Makaroff on Oceanographic Problems. 391 
On some Oceanographic Problems. By Vice-Admiral S. 
Makaroff, Imperial Russian Navy. (Plates I. -XII.) 
(Read February 9, 1899.) 
I am very glad to embrace the opportunity of addressing the 
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, many of whose 
members have contributed much to our knowledge of Oceano- 
graphy. For instance, your President, Lord Kelvin, besides his 
researches on the tides, is well known to practical seamen from his 
excellent compasses and sounding machines ; your Secretary, 
Prof. Tait, is well known from his researches on the pressure 
errors of deep-sea thermometers; Dr Alexander Buchan has a 
world- wide reputation in the department of oceanic ^meteorology ; 
the late Prof. Dittmar was a great authority on the chemistry of 
sea water. It is enough to say that Sir Wyville Thomson, Mr 
J. Y. Buchanan, and Sir John Murray, were members of the 
“Challenger” Expedition, which has given the world such valuable 
information about the depths of the sea. 
Of course, it is not with the intention of giving to such 
scientific authorities a lesson that I address the Society, but if 
you represent scientists, I represent the seamen, and it is useful 
from time to time to have a talk between these two classes of men. 
Every scientific study should be started by the scientist, but the 
sooner they can associate ordinary practical men with the work 
the better it will be. We practical seamen are more numerous 
than scientists ; we constantly navigate the sea, and we have more 
opportunities of making contributions to science than they have. 
Certainly, they can make their observations in a more exact way 
than we can, but the laws of nature — particularly those concern- 
ing Oceanography — are so imperfectly known, that there is very 
much to be done even by the rough hands of the ordinary seamen. 
There are three principal elements to be studied at sea with 
regard to Oceanography : — -the temperature of the water, the 
specific gravity of the same, and the currents. I need not say 
how easy it is to make observations on the temperature of the 
surface water ; there is only one precaution, that is, not to forget 
that the correction of the thermometer should be known, and of 
