Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/91

Nov.] atmophere a uperabundance of electricity, which was one of the principal agents in producing the luminoity of the water.

The electric tate of the atmophere was proved to me by the unuual repulion between the two balls of my electrometer.

15th. A light breeze from the outh-eat led us to hope that we hould oon be delivered from the calms, that prevail to a greater extent in thee ituations than in any other part of the ocean. Thee differences are particularly obervable upon a voyage to India, and appear to depend chiefly upon the vicinity of the African coat, to which hips, ailing from Europe to the Cape, approach much nearer, than thoe which ail from the Cape to Europe: thus the former voyages generally require a longer pace of time to be accomplihed than the latter.

Many able eamen think it adviable to cros the Line much further to the eatward than is commonly done.

The calms which prevail northward of the equator depend upon the configuration of the African coat, which projects, at the ditance of a few degrees from the Line, nearly 1,500,000 toies eatward; whilt the great ditance at which one ails from the coat, after having croed the equator, prevents the winds, generally prevalent in