1806.] Progrefs of Aftronomy in \QQ5^ hr/ Lalande. 32gi 



places, and in general every information 

 that is wanted at fean With the addition 

 of the Horary Tables, which I publilhed 

 at great length in my Abridgement of 

 Navigation in 1793, the mariner will 

 want no other alhftance to find out where 

 lie is in any part of the world. Thcfe 

 Tables render the c;dculations fo eafy, 

 that navigators would be much to blame 

 not to adopt this method of finding the 

 longitudes. M de Mendoza is at pre- 

 fent engaged upon a more complete 

 Trcatife on nautical aftronomy. 



M. Luyando has publilhed at Madrid 

 twenty-three Charts, on which may bo 

 found, by the compalfes, the iides or the 

 angles of a fpherical triangle, within a 

 few minutes, and the correction of the 

 diflances obferved at fea, within a few 

 feconds. Thefe charts, as well as thofe 

 of Mr. Margetts, of London, maybe ex- 

 tremely ufoful to thofe navigators who 

 dillike the trouble of calculation. Thofe 

 of M. Luyando are the cheapefl, but the 

 method of proceeduig with Uieni is ra- 

 ther more ditiicult. 



M. Duval Le Roi has publifiied at 

 Brell Elements of Navigation, which are 

 worthy of that able profelVor. 



M. Dupaquit has publilhed a new 

 Theory ol" the Flux and Reflux of the 

 Sea. I did my utmoft to diiVuade him 

 from it, but my efforts were unavaihng. 

 J fay thus much of it only to pievent the 

 pubhc fi-om being difappointed. 



The obiervations on the tides have 

 been continued in varicu* ports; at St. 

 Malocs by ]\L le Ceif: at Ollend by M. 

 Porquet ; at Sables d'Oloime by M. De- 



Tlie tide at Bred, at the fpring equi- 

 nox, having taken place with -an eaft 

 wind, I requelled obfervalions on the 

 fubjeCt, from which I find that it did not 

 exceed the ordinary tide. This, in my 

 opinion, confirms the fyftem which I 

 have maintained in my Trcatile on tiie 

 flux and rellux of the fca, tiiat, if the 

 cquinoc^iial tides are the hitheli, it is the 

 wind that produces this ertett. 



Geography has been enriched with 

 fevcral important works. A French 

 tranllation of Hcarn's Voyage, from 

 1709 to 1772, to the north-welt part of 

 Hii.lfon's Bay, has been publifhed, in 

 two volumes ot(avo, by (jilbert. il«. 

 • traverled from (.'hnrchill River, which 

 difchar^es itfcif into the Bay, up to the 

 72d degree of latitude, and a breadth of 

 100 myiiiinietres ; and vifited tlic coun- 

 Vry of t!ie Efquimaux, wlio inhabit tlic 



AI0.N THLY Mag., Ino. 149. 



country adjacent to Copper River. The 

 charts of North America were confide- 

 rably changed by this voyage. The com- 

 munication with tlie fea, about which fo 

 much has been laid, appears to be more 

 and more problematical. 



Captain Krufenlteni, commanding two 

 Rufiiau ihips, with which he has circum- 

 navigated the globe, arrived at Kamt- 

 fcluicka on the 8th of Auguft, 1804, after 

 having doubled Cape Horn, and touch- 

 ing at thelMarqaefas and at the Sand- 

 wich Illands. He purpofes to vifit China 

 and Japan. The narrative of this voy- 

 age will be highly interelting, and will 

 do honour to the Academy of St. Peterf- 

 burg, at whofe requeft it was undertaken. 



In the twenty-eighth Number of the 

 Annals of the National Alufcum of Na- 

 tural Hiftory, for February, 1805, we find 

 that Captain Lewis is about to trace the 

 JNliffouri up to its fouice. He will then 

 feek the neareft river fituated to the 

 weft, and will defcend it to the Pacific 

 C>cean. This expedition, confifting of 

 twelve perfons, will probably return in a 

 few months. Mr. Jeffcrfon, the Prcfi- 

 dent, intends to fend others for the pur- 

 pofe of \'iliting other rivers which are ut- 

 terly unknown. 



On the 6th of February Mungo Park 

 failed from Portfmouth on his return to 

 the interior of Africa, to which he has 

 already made fuch a curious expedition. 



Lieutenant Ohlfen is engaged in pre- 

 paring a ]\Iap of Iceland. He mentions 

 a fpring of boiling water at Stort, \\hich 

 firft made its appearance in 1784. The 

 ftream of water which it projects rifes to 

 the height of three hundred feet. This 

 proves that there is a great quantity of 

 water in the interior of the earth, and * 

 fupports the hypotiiefis by which I have 

 accounted for the reduction of the wa- 

 ters that covered Dur mountains, and 

 v.hich, in my opinion, retired into its in- 

 terior cavities. 



M. Schubert, an able aftronomer of 

 Pctcrfijurg, fet out for China with the 

 Ruffian embalfy. He gave us reafon to 

 hope for ufeful obfervations on the geo- 

 graphy of Aha. We have been infornied 

 that the embaffy has arrived on the 

 frontiers ; out of 600 myriainctres, it 

 had only ISO to go ; but the Chinefe re- 

 fufing to receive fuch a nuniciouj reti- 

 nue, M. Schubert is returning to the 

 North : hisjouniey wiilftiil be ufoful. 



M. Portalis, the Mlnifior des Culfes, 



being delirous of fending millionaries to 



China, has madearittngcnjcnts with M. 



T t Brunet, 



