Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One 1800–1846 Naturals and Naturalists
- Part One Introduction
- “A Memoir on the Discovery of Certain Bones of a Quadruped of the Clawed Kind in the Western Parts of Virginia,” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1799)
- “Pileated Woodpecker,” American Ornithology; or the Natural History of the Birds of the United States (1801)
- “Currents,” The New American Practical Navigator (1802)
- “Account of a North American Quadruped, supposed to belong to the Genus Ovis, Rocky-Mountain Sheep, Ovis Montana,” Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1817)
- “A Monograph of North American insects, of the genus Cincindela” (excerpt) Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1818)
- “On the Genus Ocythoe,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (1819)
- “Preface,” American Entomology, or Descriptions of the Insects of North America (1824–28)
- “Preface” (excerpt), The Genera of North American Plants and a Catalogue of the Species, to the Year 1817 (1818)
- “Pileated Woodpecker,” Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada (1832)
- “Introduction,” Ichthyologia ohiensis, or natural history of the fishes inhabiting the river Ohio and its tributary streams (1820)
- “Notices of Materia Medica, or new medical properties of some American Plants,” Western Minerva or, American Annals of Knowledge and Literature (1820)
- “Passenger Pigeon,” Ornithological Biography (1831)
- “On the Production of Currents and Sparks of Electricity from Magnetism,” American Journal of Science and Arts (July 1832)
- “The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever” (excerpts), New England Quarterly Journal of Medicine (1843)
- “On the Two Storms Which Were Experienced throughout the United States, in the Month of February, 1842” (excerpt) Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1845)
- Part Two 1846–1876 Warriors
- Part Three 1876–1900 Scientists
- Bibliography
“Currents,” The New American Practical Navigator (1802)
from Part One - 1800–1846 Naturals and Naturalists
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One 1800–1846 Naturals and Naturalists
- Part One Introduction
- “A Memoir on the Discovery of Certain Bones of a Quadruped of the Clawed Kind in the Western Parts of Virginia,” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1799)
- “Pileated Woodpecker,” American Ornithology; or the Natural History of the Birds of the United States (1801)
- “Currents,” The New American Practical Navigator (1802)
- “Account of a North American Quadruped, supposed to belong to the Genus Ovis, Rocky-Mountain Sheep, Ovis Montana,” Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1817)
- “A Monograph of North American insects, of the genus Cincindela” (excerpt) Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1818)
- “On the Genus Ocythoe,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (1819)
- “Preface,” American Entomology, or Descriptions of the Insects of North America (1824–28)
- “Preface” (excerpt), The Genera of North American Plants and a Catalogue of the Species, to the Year 1817 (1818)
- “Pileated Woodpecker,” Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada (1832)
- “Introduction,” Ichthyologia ohiensis, or natural history of the fishes inhabiting the river Ohio and its tributary streams (1820)
- “Notices of Materia Medica, or new medical properties of some American Plants,” Western Minerva or, American Annals of Knowledge and Literature (1820)
- “Passenger Pigeon,” Ornithological Biography (1831)
- “On the Production of Currents and Sparks of Electricity from Magnetism,” American Journal of Science and Arts (July 1832)
- “The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever” (excerpts), New England Quarterly Journal of Medicine (1843)
- “On the Two Storms Which Were Experienced throughout the United States, in the Month of February, 1842” (excerpt) Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1845)
- Part Two 1846–1876 Warriors
- Part Three 1876–1900 Scientists
- Bibliography
Summary
A current is a progressive motion of the water, causing all floating bodies to move that way towards which the stream is directed. The set of a current is that point of the compass towards which the waters run, and its drift is the rate it runs per hour. The most usual way of discovering the set and drift of an unknown current, is the following, supposing the current at the surface to be much more powerful than at a great distance below the surface:—
Take a boat a short distance from the ship, and, by a rope fastened to the boat's stern, lower down a heavy iron pot or loaded kettle to the depth of 80 or 100 fathoms; then heave the log, and the number of knots run out in half a minute will be the miles the current sets per hour, and the bearing of the log will show the set of it.
There is a very remarkable current, called the Gulf Stream, which sets in a north-east direction along the coast of America, from Cape Florida towards the Isle of Sables, at unequal distances from the land, being about 75 miles from the short of the southern States, but more distant from the shore of the northern States. The width of the stream is about 40 or 50 miles, widening towards the north.
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- Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2012