37 



will not be an acre of land in the country the altitude of which above the 

 one universal datiun will be unknown. All Ireland, the northern counties of 

 England, and the Southern ports of Scotland are thus favovired ; other parts 

 are in progress." 



Two lines of Ordnance levels pass through Herefordshire, viz., one from 

 Cardiff to Tenbury and another from Worcester to Aberystwyth. The former 

 enters our county at Hay, and leaves it at Kid Castle : the latter enters the 

 county at or near Little Hereford, and leaves it at Lingen's Bridge, near 

 Brampton Bryan. 



It wiU be seen at once that these levels do not come near Hereford, but 

 fortunately the raUway leveUings have been made available through the kind- 

 ness of friends, and thus we have been able to test the accuracy of the conclu- 

 sions we had arrived at respecting the altitude of Hereford, i.e., conclusions 

 drawn from carefully made barometrical observations. 



I had made various attempts to ascertain the height of our city above sea- 

 level by means of simultaneous barometrical observations, and had come to the 

 conclusion that my garden stands 184 feet above the sea, when it occurred to 

 me to write to Mr. T. D. Eoberts, C.E., then of Brecon, and ask the differ- 

 ence of level between Moorhampton station, on the Brecon Une, and the Bar- 

 ton station at Hereford, intending afterwards to find the difference of level 

 between Moorhampton station and Weobley, as the Ordnance line of levels 

 passes near the latter place, and there is a first-class bench-mark (a bolt) on the 

 church waU. But Mr. Eoberts did much more than I asked, and very kindly 

 saved me any fmther trouble ; for he joined the levels of the Brecon line with 

 those of the Ordnance Survey at Hay, and then made out and sent me the alti- 

 tudes of all the stations from Hay to Hereford, thus furnishina; us with what 

 has been so long a desideratum to the scientific men ol Hereford, viz. , the 

 height of the city above the sea as shown by actual leveUing. According to 

 Mr. Eoberts the Moorfield station is 179 feet above the sea, and my garden 

 is 182 feet. 



Mr. Eoberts's altitudes are as follows : — The rails at Hay station are 

 254-12 feet above the sea; Whitney, 25978; Eardisley, 23012 ; Moorhamp- 

 ton, 337-17 ; Credenhill, 251-62 ; Moorfields, 179-12 ; Barton, 175-77 ; the 

 rails on bridge over canal at Widemarsh, 183-98. 



Mr. Eoberts afterwards sent the following altitudes :— The rails at Tram 

 Inn station are 289 feet above the sea ; St. Devereux, 281 ; Pandy, 345 ; Llan- 

 fihangel, 472 ; Pontrilas, 365 ; Abergavenny, 236 ; Penpergwm, 159. 



Mr. Curley has given in his map of Hereford a number of very valuable 

 levels, and by connecting these with those furnished by Mr. Eoberts, we are 

 able to ascertain the height of any portion of this city and its suburbs above 

 the sea. 



Mr. Curley has taken the average summer level at Wye Bridge for his 

 datum point, and the figures in his map denote the heights in feet above this 

 point, which is 31 feet below a mark on the Plinth of the Post Office. If v, e 



