ManufaBure of GIU 'Buttons, 15 



J)«tirtg t^e (ipft years of the revolution the national pb- 

 fefvatory Vy^0 negltJi^ed : as foon as I was appointeid director 

 of it I ffilich^ for now inllruments ; iand Mechain, when he 

 returned from his voyagef-^ employed bimfelf in caufing th« 

 necelliity i*€paration$ lo be made. By the mont'h of July the 

 new inftruments were €r€<fte<J, but it was not till the 22d of 

 Augud that Mechain was iable to begin his obfervations of 

 the moon. Bouvard fupplies iiis place with that zeal by 

 which he is fo much diftingyifl>cd ; and We (lialt have at 

 Paris a ferics of obfervations of the moon that may equal 

 thofe made at the obfet-vatary of Greenwieh. 



The large mural tjuadrant of j\ feet, which BoHaparte 

 procured for us, as I mentioned in my Hiftory of Allrbnomy 

 for the year 7, has been ere6led. 



Lenoir has added to the centre an ingenious machine, 

 which cafes the central axis from the weight of the telefcope, 

 and varies according as the elevation of the telefcope is 

 changed. A mural of five feet, made in England by SifToii 

 in 1743, and which I had at Berlin in 1751, has been erected 

 QB the northern fide. An excellent tranfit inftrument by 

 Lenoir has been placed in the meridian, and fights have been 

 fixed up north and fouth at great diftances, that the telefcope 

 Brvay be al\vays exa6lly in the meridian : there is reafon to 

 hope that we fhall have a column in the plain, with alight 

 to be kindled in the evening, which will ferve during the 



night. 



[To be continued,] 



J I. A hrief Account of the Manufadure of Gilt But tons ^ 

 CQtnpr'ifing Jom^ Improvements important, to MunufaBurers. 

 Cqmmimicated hjy Me£rs. Cqllard and FftA^fiii, of 

 Bii'min^bam. 



'^ 



A 



S the .means employed in the manufafture of plain gilt 

 buttons are not univcrQiIlv known, the following funimary, 

 ^yhilc it points out to the manufatlurer many confiderablfi 

 advantages, in the ufe and recovery of his mercury, will alfo, 

 it is hoped, be found iutercfling'to many readers of the Phi^ 

 lofophical Magazine. 



The 



