6go THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



comet from various stars, determined the latitude and longitude 

 by lunar distances and eclipses of the sun and moon, occurring 

 about the same time, and the variation of the magnetic needle. 

 Several months of study were required to reduce these observa- 

 tions ; and as tables were wanting, he was compelled to calculate 

 elements that the modern astronomer finds ready to his hand. 

 The results of this work were published by the American Academy 

 of Arts and Sciences in a paper by General Epaphras Hoyt, the 

 conclusions of the uncle and nephew being combined in a longi- 

 tude determination. 4. In making these calculations use was 

 made of the Nautical Almanac, then published by Edmund M. 

 Blunt, of New York (reprinted from the standard English publi- 

 cation). Errors would hardly be looked for in such a work, but 

 beneath the opening page for every month was this sentence : 

 " Ten dollars will be paid on the discovery of an error in the fig- 

 ures." Young Hitchcock soon discovered a long list of errors, 

 both in the figures and the text, and sent it to Mr. Blunt, who an- 

 swered evasively. The list was then published in the American 

 Monthly Magazine, which called out Mr. Blunt in a statement com- 

 mencing, " Noticing an attack on my Nautical Almanac from one 

 Edward Hitchcock, a few remarks only are necessary to explain 

 the man's drift." He represented the errors as occurring in a part 

 of the work used chiefly by astronomers, and added, " I would 

 rather ten errors should escape me there than one by which the 

 mariner should be deceived." Before this answer had been seen, 

 Hitchcock had forwarded to the magazine a list of twenty errors 

 in the tables of lunar distances, which were serious, because of 

 their magnitude and their use by sailors. Six months later another 

 list of thirty-five errors from these almanacs for 1815, 1816, 1817, 

 and 1818 made its appearance. This led Mr. Blunt to employ a 

 mathematician to recalculate the almanac for 1819, and in his 

 preface to state that "it will afford much satisfaction and promote 

 commercial advantages if, on discovery of an error in any nautical 

 work, publicity should immediately be made." A copy was sent 

 to Hitchcock, who soon made out a list of thirty-five errors, and 

 forwarded them to the magazine. Mr. Blunt did not send the pe- 

 cuniary reward promised, but published the statement that "the 

 communication of Mr. Hitchcock deserves notice, and he is enti- 

 tled to much credit for his perseverance." It was a great triumph 

 for a young man to sustain himself against these standard astro- 

 nomical tables. The most rigid accuracy was indispensable, and 

 the discipline fully equal to that acquired by years of scholastic 

 training. 5. A related discipline came from the publication of 

 a Country Almanac from 1814 to 1818, whose calculations were 

 original. Here also accuracy was essential to success. No com- 

 plaint was ever made, except in the assignment of Easter to an 



