116 Sea Log and Sounding Machine. 
slant and regular, might be found out and ascertained, 
from the journals of several ships, which would then 
agree much nearer with one another.” Anti Bmeaton ob- 
serves, that 66 it is for want of a means of measuring the 
way of a ship through the water, (and this compared with 
other check observations,) that the drift and velocities 
of the principal currents have not already been deter- 
mined.” 
Eut admitting the common logline and glass were per- 
fectly uniform in each ship of a fleet, yet the result would, 
still be too erroneous to expect this very desirable know- 
ledge of the currents to be derived from a comparison of 
the several journals. Massey’s patent log holds out, 
however, more than a probability of effecting this impor- 
tant end. It appears by a letter from captain Whittle, 
of the Lord Nelson, that he found the distance run from 
the island of Ha, to Saint Johns’ harbour, Newfoundland, 
by Massey’s log, to agree with the known latitudes and 
longitudes of both places, within eight miles. Now had 
he sailed in company with several other ships, supplied 
with the same log, which had kept tolerably well together 
during the whole voyage, and it had been found (which 
is more than probable) that all their reckonings corres- 
ponded with his ; the difference between the true distance, 
and the distance given by the log, might with the greatest 
propriety be ascribed to the operation ^f currents; the 
existence of which would consequently be discovered, as 
far as related to those seas. 
The importance of obtaining true soundings at sea must 
he admitted by every seamen; and it is rather singular, 
that no other method than the common lead has hitherto 
been brought into use ; as its imperfections are very gene- 
rally acknowledged. 
Many vessels have been lost, by depending upon the 
soundings taken in the usual way. The difficulty of ob 
