3J26 Mr Sarig's Meteorological Observations on 



" If these general observations are allowed to be well founded, 

 they will lead towards the conclusion — that the various tribes of 

 men are of one origin. The diversities of language carry us, 

 indeed, very far back towards the infancy of our race, and are, 

 perhaps, much more ancient distinctions than the varieties of 

 fomi and colour. But these diversities require no such ex- 

 planation as that of a separate origin, or a distinct creation of 

 the several races who are so characterised.'"' — Trans, of British 

 Association, Second Report, p. 529. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT EDINBURGH 



DURING THE GREAT SOLAR ECLIPSE OF JULY 17. 1833. 2. 



A METHOD OF FREEING THE DETERMINATION OF THE LA- 

 TITUDE OF AN OBSERVATORY, AND OF THE DECLINATION 

 OF A STAR, FROM THE CONSIDERATION OF ATMOSPHERIC 



REFRACTION. By Edward Saxg, M, S. A. S., Teacher 

 of Mathematics, Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author. 



1. Meteorological Observations made at Edinburgh during the Great 

 Solar Eclipse of July 17. 1833. 



The clouded state of the atmosphere, which completely pre- 

 vented any astronomical observations at Edinburgh, gave, per- 

 haps, additional interest to photometric experiments made du- 

 ring the eclipse. 



After rising through a narrow belt of cloud, the sun entered 

 upon a horizontal zone of perhaps two degrees in breadth, entirely 

 free from interruption, and thus afforded me an opportunity of de- 

 termining the error of the clock : he then disappeared behind the 

 superior mass of dense cloud, and remained totally invisible till 

 nearly the conclusion of the experiments ; at that time his disc 

 became faintly visible, and, as the clock had only been erected 

 the previous evening, opportunity was again taken to determine 

 her rate. The altitudes of the sun were observed by means of 

 a ten-inch Theodolite and Troughton, divided to every tenth- 

 second, and having three horizontal wires in the field-bar of 

 the telescope, so that the corrected times may be depended on 

 to a degree of accuracy far beyond the necessity of the case. 



During the eclipse, and for some time before and after it. 



