7 
upon the Steam-Engine. 
j^riod would have been congenial to my habits ; and allow me 
to remain with esteem. Dear Sir, your most obedient humble ser- 
vant, James Watt. 
Heathfield, May 1614, 
Art. II. — Account of some remarkable Ripples, observed mar 
the northern entrance qf the Straits of Malacca. Commu- 
nicated by the Author 
In his Majesty’s ship Minden, in 1814, a number of singiilar 
Ripples were observed between the north end of Sumatra and 
the Nicobar Islands ; and also between that line and Pulo 
Penang, or Prince of Wales’ Island. None of these islands, 
however, were in sight ; and there were no soundings. 
These ripples varied from two to five miles in length, and 
from two to four hundred yards in breadth : their direction was 
nearly north and south ; they were always first descried in the 
west, or south-west; from that quarter they approached and 
passed the ship, and then went off to the east or north-east In 
their general appearance they resembled the waves of the sea 
breaking on a shallow sandy shore. The waves forming the 
ripple, did not tumble against one another irregularly, but 
curled and broke in the direction towards which the whole 
ripple was advancing. When the sea breaks on a sandy beach, 
and forms what is called Surf, the waves stretch along parallel 
to the shore, and when they break, roll in upon it, one after 
the other ; but in these ripples, the waves were not so continu- 
ous, and, when they broke, the water, instead of rolling along 
like surf, splashed up perpendicularly to a considerable height 
Some of the ripples were very gentle, so that the surface of 
the sea was scarcely whitened by them, their approach being 
indicated only by a faint noise. Others were heard several 
miles olf, and advanced towards the ship, boiling and foaming 
* Although this paper is anonymous, yet we are weH acquainted with the able 
author of it, who, for reasons of his own, withholds his name from the public. 
We mention this, for the purpose of informing our Correspondents, that no com- 
munications are admissible unless we know the name of their author ; and of re- 
questing those who have sent us communications of this kind, to favour m 
with their names.— -E d. 
