272 NATURAL HISTORY 
makes to the northward at the season of the long- 
est days. Now nothing would be necessary but 
to place these two objects with so much exactness, 
that the westerly limb of the sun, at setting, might 
but just clear the winter heliotrope to the west of 
it on the shortest day, and that the whole disk of 
the sun, at the longest day, might exactly, at set- 
ting, also clear the summer heliotrope to the north 
of it. 
By this simple expedient it would soon appear 
that there is no such thing, strictly speaking, as a 
solstice; for, from the shortest day, the owner 
would, every clear evening, see the disk advancing, 
at its setting, to the westward of the object ; and, 
from the longest day, observe the sun retiring back- 
ward every evening, at its setting, towards the ob- 
ject westward, till in a few nights it would set quite 
behind it, and so by degrees to the west of it; for 
when the sun comes near the summer solstice, the 
whole disk of it would at first set behind the object ; 
after a time the northern limb would first appear, 
and so every night gradually more, till at length 
the whole diameter would set northward of it for 
about three nights, but on the middle night of the 
three sensibly more remote than the former or fol. 
lowing. When beginning its recess from the sum. 
mer tropic, it would continue more and more to be 
hidden every night, till at length it would descend 
quite behind the object again, and so nightly more 
and more to the westward. | 
