eastward, the distance off shore nearly the same as when we saw it. The last two years I have made nearly forty passages backward and forward from Falmouth to Lisbon, and, unless with a heavy swell and light winds, we have had little occasion to make allowance for currents, either on, or alongshore; with the wind dead on end, we have never taken more than three days and a half to beat from Lisbon to Oporto; and on the 22d of July last I weighed from the Tagus at 5 P.M., and at midnight, 25th July, hove to off Oporto, delivered a mail, and was anchored in the Tagus at 10 P.M., next day. We started from the Tagus, blowing a gale from north-east, and during that time the wind did not vary two points, close reefed sails, and the greatest part of the time with our topsail furled: had there been any current, it was impossible for any vessel, steamer, or others, to have done it in that time. I am, Sir, your very humble servant, (No. 9.) On the 25th of October, 1810, a gun-boat for the service of Cadiz, being in tow of the Rebuff gun-brig, broke adrift in a gale of wind, in latitude 39° 44', and longitude 9° 38' W. On the 19th of November following, his Majesty's sloop of war Columbine, when cruising 8 or 9 miles to the westward of Cadiz lighthouse, observed a gun-boat to leeward, which proved to be the identical boat that twenty-five days before had broken adrift from the Rebuff. The distance traversed by the boat was about 350 miles, or 14 miles a day, chiefly by the current, the wind in the mean time being so various as nearly to render the drift negative, or, if any thing, against the set of the current. (No. 10.) A bottle from the Carshalton Park, Lieut. J. Steele Park, 27th July, 1827, in lat. 48° 39', long. 10° 21'; taken up 21st Dec., 1827, on the shore of Penbron Road, near the Loire, in the Bay of Biscay, lat. 47° 19', long. 2° 30′ W. (No. 11.) Coruna, November 19, 1831. SIR. The accompanying paper was transmitted to me from Vivero, a small port on the north coast of Galicia by the courier who arrived from that place on the 16th inst. It appears to have been found on the shore, about four miles from the town by a peasant, as far back as the 12th of last September, and to have remained in his possession until its object was discovered by the person who forwarded it to me. The direction to which the cylinder was carried indicates a south-easterly current off this coast. To the Secretary, Admiralty. I have the honor, &c., T. S. SARELL, Consul. "H.M.S. Chanticleer, May 3, 1831, “ Lat. 31° 44′ 38·30′′ N. obs., long. 11° 4′ 00′′ W. chron. "This cylinder was thrown overboard with the view of ascertaining the current. Moderate breezes from northward; fine weather. All well up to the present. "H. T. AUSTIN, Acting Commander. "Whoever finds this paper is requested to forward it to the Secretary of the Admiralty, London, with a note of the time and place at which it was found." This advice has been found by a countryman at the occidental entrance of this port of Vivero, on the 12th of Sept., 1831.-J. A. VILLAPOL. (No. 12.) Trinidad, 10th August, 1822. SIR.—I have the honor to transmit to you the enclosed document, taken out of a bottle thrown on the coast of Mayaro in this island, on the 28th ult. I have, &c., J. W. Croker, Esq., Admiralty. A. W. YOUNG, A. G. "The bottle which contains this card was thrown into the sea in lat. 6o 13, S., long. 15o 35' W., at noon, on the 17th of January, 1822, from the ship Ospray, of Glasgow, which sailed from Greenock, on the 20th of February, 1820, on a trading voyage round the world. "Whoever finds this is requested to insert a notice of the time and place in some Literary or Political Publication, with a view of establishing facts relative to the currents of the ocean. Eighty-seven days from Calcutta towards Greenock.-All well." (No. 13.) "The bottle containing this paper was thrown overboard from H.M.S. Erebus, on the 14th Oct., 1839, in lat. 39° 20' N., long. 12° 40' W. Whoever may find it is requested to forward this paper to the Secretary of the Admiralty, London, together with a notice of the latitude and longitude of the spot where found.-Wind moderate, west-all well. "J. C Ross, Captain." Found yesterday on shore by two fishermen at Cape St. Mary. (No. 14.) A bottle from the Emerald, Captain Nockells, bound to Jamaica, 17th Dec. 1831, in lat. 36° 40', long, per chron., 12° 32'. Found on the north side of Anegada, 8th January, 1833. The winds for the last three Days, previous to the 17th of December, were from North and N.W. to S. W. For eight years preceding these it blew a continued and heavy gale from S. W and W.N.b.W. the bark lying-to the whole time, and drifting from lat. 41° 38', 237 miles to the northward. (No. 15.) SIR.-Noticing the interest you take respecting bottles thrown into the sea, for the purpose of ascertaining the currents of the ocean, I beg to transmit the following particulars of a bottle thrown overboard by me, when on a voyage to St. Michaels, in 1830, and which was picked up on the French coast near Bayonne, as appears by the following letter: London, 20th December, 1830. "A sealed bottle was found on the coast of Lit, department of Landes, province of Bayonne, on the 14th October last. It contained a paper written in the English language of which the following is a translation : Monday, 2d February, 1830, at 3 P.M., on board the Lady Louisa, Captain Pallant, bound to St. Michaels, longitude 13° 45' west, meridian of London, latitude 45° north. All well on board. "N.B. It is particularly requested that the following information may be transmitted to Mr. Robert Blundy, Woolwich, Kent, viz., the exact time and place where this bottle was picked up." "His Excellency the Minister of Marine in France, has instructed me, Sir, to transmit you this information, for the satisfaction of the person who threw the bottle into the sea." It was calculated by the French authorities that the bottle floated at the rate of one league per day. I am, &c., CHARLES BLUNDY. Erratum in the table.—For “ 14th Oct., 1839," read "14th Oct., 1830;" and in the column of interval for " 9 years 254 days," read "254 days." (No. 16.) Santiago de Galicia, Dec. 6, 1817. SIR. This is to inform Your Excellency of the following success. On the Bay of Carnota in this kingdom of Galicia, three leagues south of the Cape Finisterre, was picked up on the 10th of November last, a corked and sealed bottle, which, after opened, it was found the following letter: "This bottle was thrown overboard from the Catherine of London, in lat. 44° N., longitude by account 13° 49', on Wednesday, June 25, 1817. "O. B. WALLER, Master. "This is intended to ascertain the set of the Current. Whoever picks it up is requested to acknowledge it by publication." I think it neccessary and also worth of curiosity to inform Your Excellency that on the very same spot it has being picked up about the end of May, another bottle, containing a letter, addressed to " John Williamson Shik, Esq., Georgia, written by Captain W. Baugh, in the 43° longitude, and 49° latitude, from on board the ship Georgia, in his voyage to Liverpool," without date. I believe the idea of the master of the Catherine being intended to ascertain the set of the current, it will be valued by the other discovery. The originals of both letters which were presented to me for translation have been sent to Madrid, with the idea of receiving publication in our newspapers; but I hope Your Excellency will be kind enough as to excuse the liberty I take of addressing myself directly on both subjects. To Hon. First Lord of Admiralty. I remain, &c. MANUEL FLOREZ. (No. 17.) is from a chart which does not give the authority. Consulate of the Canary Islands. (No. 18.) SIR. Í have the honor to transmit to you enclosed a paper, which I received in an official note from the Commandant de Marina of this Province, stating that it was cast ashore the 28th of June last, on the beach of Adeje in this island, in lat. 28° 8' N., long. 10° 31' W. of Cadiz. I have, &c. To C. Wood, Esq., Secretary, Admiralty. "Ship Kinnear of London, 26th of July, 1838, lat. 44° 32' N., long. 13° 57' W., on a voyage to Hobart Town and Sydney, New South Wales.-All "CHARLES MALlard, r.n., Commander." hands well." (No. 19.) A bottle from the brig Freeland, Captain T. Midgley, (from Liverpool to Africa,) in lat. 41° 50′ N., long. 14° 23' W., 11th of February, 1833; picked up close to the shore, off the Harbour of Vigo, on the 1st of March following; having traversed, in a true E. N. direction, about 80 leagues. ENLARGED SERIES.-NO. 4.-VOL. FOR 1843. 2 K (No. 19a.) Jamaica, Oct. 28th, 1815. The following has been published by Capt. Coulson, late of the ship Port Royal. "This bottle was thrown overboard from the William Manning, of London, in lat. 35° N., long. 14° 26' W., on Sept. 9, 1810. "THOMAS HUSKISSON. "This is intended to ascertain the current; whoever picks it up is requested to acknowledge it by publication." Capt. Coulson picked up the above bottle on the 19th of the present month, on the south-east point of H- (Probably Hispaniola-ED. N.M.)—Naval Chron., vol. 1835, p. 31. (No. 20.) 66 Capt. Marshall, commander, ship Barretto, jun., 9th Dec., 1839, lat. 44° 50', long. 14° 19'; from Portsmouth to Gibraltar, with detachments of the 1st Royals, 81st and 82d regiments. Officers names-Major Pinckney, 82d; Capt. Jeffery and Lieut. Powell, 81st; Lieut. Diggle, 82d; Ensign C. W. Thompson, 81st; Ensign Isaac and Ensign Lambert, 82d; Assistant-Surgeon Atkinson, 82d regiments. Mrs. Atkinson and child. Left Portsmouth 28th November, 1839. At sea-all well. "Whoever picks up this paper is requested to publish it in the first newspaper, British or Foreign, in order to show the course of the currents." "Ayez la bonté de publier ceci dans le journaux Français ou Anglais." "Tenga V. M. la bondad de publicar este papel en las gacetas Espanolas, Inglesas, 6 Americanas."-M.S. Picked up on the 12th of February, 1840, near 50 tower, Coast Guard Station. W. R. ASHBY, Lieut. R.N., Chief Officer. (To be continued.) MODERN WORKS ON NAVIGATION, (Notes and Mems. "for the use of Seamen."-First Series.) BOWDITCH.* THE Astronomy relating to navigation is not sufficiently explanatory; no beginner can carry it in his head without a constant appeal to figures. Such words as nonagesimal, ascensional difference, &c., only confuse a learner, and their occasional use does not justify their appearance in a book for every day purposes. Again, the explanations of Nutation, Precession, cannot possibly be understood by a beginner. Mem, all such matters should be expunged to make room for what he wants, and which he will probably take the pains to learn. Mem. What has Compound interest to do with navigation? At p. 52 in a note it is stated that allowance is to be made for the variation" by rules which will be given in this work". Mem: want of order and arrangement. A beginner refers to the contents, occupying, (without any indication of subjects, or classification) three pages, and which of course he must, to find any thing, read regularly through. "The New American Practical Navigator;" being an Epitome of Navigation, containing all the Tables necessary to be used with the Nautical Almanac, in determining the latitude and the longitude by Lunar Observations, and keeping a complete reckoning at sea, &c.-By Nathaniel Bowditch, L.L.D., New York, 1842. Mem. What has a sailor to do with measuring heights by barometer? Out of the thousands of seamen, how many have ever carried a barometer to the top of a mountain to find its height? What have sailors to do with guaging, the work of excisemen? and what exciseman would buy a great book of navigation to teach him how to guage a cask? Mem. Want of perception of the use or object of a navigation book; and in order to give these and many other such things-(which, though connected with a seaman's duties under peculiar circumstances, are not navigation,)—the real subjects of navigation, as latitude, longitude, and time, are confined to limits not sufficient to contain the necessary information. In mid. lat. sailing, Bowditch makes, like some other writers, (for want of a principle of classification) seven cases. But as mid. lat. sailing relates to diff. long. there are only two cases, one in which the diff. long. is given, and the other in which it is to be found, and the seven cases are made up by mixing up considerations which belong properly to plane sailing. Mem. confounding and puzzling the beginner. It is a custom, adopted in this book, to treat certain questions as problems useful in navigation and surveying. But these problems must, if of any use, relate to some special case or branch of the subject, under which they should be treated, as their proper place; and if not, they should be omitted, as only occupying space which should be better employed: Mem. bad taste. In the tides, Lubbock and Whewell are mentioned; but no notice or enumeration of their important researches taken; and, while not a word is said of the semi-menstrual inequality, allusion is made to the comparatively trifling corrections for declination.-Mem. inconsistent. Mem. The current sailing is very meagrely treated; no information of a really practical character is given upon its immediate effects on the course and distance of the ship. The word drift is used for rate, and the information given is chiefly of that kind which belongs to the sailing directions, and is sure to be found there. Note. Bowditch gives a good account of the repeating reflecting circle, an instrument unknown to our inferior order of navigators, owing to the despotic influence of Troughton over the taste in instruments, and who did not like it. In the lat. by mer. alt. of the moon, p. 171, a foot note, Bowditch says, "when great accuracy is required." How can great accuracy be got from the moon? The lat. being unknown, the long. is of course unknown, and the moon's declin. cannot be found. Mem. unpractical character again.) In the double alt. Bowditch does not once allude to the diff. of azimuth as the criterion of the value of the observation. Yet this was pointed out by Dr. Inman many years ago. Mem. a very serious omission. In equal alts. Bowditch's method employs the daily diff. instead of the 2 daily; and his logarithms are less conveniently adapted than any other modern work. Bowditch treats lunars before chronometers; and under the head of lunars, he enumerates all the other methods. Also under this head |
