Figure of the Earth. — Pendulum. 149 



out from the point at which M. Majendie has arrived, to ex- 

 amine in what proportions the mixture of alimentary substances 

 which contain azote, with such as are deprived of it, may besufti- 

 cient or insufficient to complete nutrition, to repair entirely the 

 waste wiiich takes place, and to maintain the animal in a degree 

 of healtli and of strength corresponding to his organiKation. 

 M. Majenciie will without doubt accomplish all this ; and in 

 doing so he w ill effect the solution of a problem of the greatest 

 importance to the animal oeconomy, to medicine, and in par- 

 ticular to the theory of regimen." 



XXXIX. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



FIGtJKE OF THE EARTH. — PENDULUM. 



1 HE question respecting the figure of the earth, and the ano- 

 malies in the English and other trigonometrical surveys, which 

 lias given rise to so much interesting discussion during the last 

 three or four years, is likely to receive considerable illustration 

 in the course of tbe present. The gentlemen engaged in the 

 trigonometrical survev, having purchased expressly for this pur- 

 pose, about three years ago, a fine astronomical clock, (made 

 by Pennington,) intend taking it to the Orkneys with other 

 apparatus, as soon as the season is sufficiently advanced, to as- 

 certain the vil)rations of pendulums at that high northern lati- 

 tude. MM. Biot and Arago are deputed from the French Aca- 

 demy to meet tbem there with the pendulum apparatus which 

 has already been employed on the arc of the meridian between 

 Dunkirk and Formentera. And it is boped that another depu- 

 tation from the Royal Society will join the party. The same 

 respective sets of apparatus will be canied to several points be- 

 tween the Orkneys and Blackdown (near Weymouth) ; and thus 

 in connexion with the results alre;:dy obtained on the contineiit, 

 being spread over an arc of nearly 2 ! degrees, must furnish some 

 extremely interesting data for the fiiture investigations of mathe- 

 maticians and philosophers. 



INDENTATIONS IN THE SUN's EDGE. 



Several years ago Dr. Mcrschel, after tracing a solar spot across 

 part of the sun's disk, until it passed off its edge, observed it to 

 occasion there an indentation ; and thereby he made the impor- 

 tant discovery, that the spots on the sun arc depressions in the 

 surface, or holes through the luminous iitmopphcre by which the 



K 3 siui 



