422 Depression in Capillary Tubes. 



means of the Series, and published in England in Nicholson's 

 Journal 1809. He objects to the English mode of computing, 

 on the score of inaccuracy and the length of the calculations ; and 

 he therefore prefers another method, which is sneered at in 

 the article Cohesion in the Supplement of the Encijclopcedia 

 Britannica. A translation of Laplace's article was immediately 

 published in England in the same Journal 1810. The translator 

 makes no observations in words ; but certain passages to be ani- 

 madverted on are distinguished by placing marks of admiration ; 

 the degrees of disapprobation being noted, in this symbolical 

 criticism, by multiplying the signs. At the end of the transla- 

 tion, the English and French numbers are set against one another 

 in hostile array: as much as to say: Here are the numbers of the 

 infallible Series ; and see there, the numbers of the blundering 

 Frenchmen with all their refined methods of calculation. 



It was certainly to be expected that a grave philosopher, such 

 I must suppose my antagonist to be, would take proper pains, be- 

 fore uttering injurious aspersions, to ascertain whether the charges 

 he was sending forth into the world were just or not. Supposing 

 him to have confidence in his series, he had in his own power a 

 sure way of verifying any suspicions of error he might entertain. 

 He had' only to take the elements from which I computed, or the 

 elements from which the French computed ; to substitute them 

 in his own formula ; and then to compare the results obtained 

 with the results of the other methods. 1 see no reason to think 

 he has taken this precaution. The burden of his song is nothing 

 but this : My numbers are different from yours, and therefore 

 yours must be wrong. 



1 certainly have a great aversion to meddle with the clumsy 

 series of my antagonist ; but I must now take it in my own hands, 

 and do with it what he ought to have done. He has in fact left 

 me no other mode of defence; for, if I pursue any other line of 

 argument, 1 shall only be told that I have committed new errors. 

 It were perhaps more prudent to trust the characters of the me- 

 thods to the opinion of the public ; but still it may be worth 

 while taking some pains to oppose so overbearing an attempt, 

 even although the chance be small that the truth shall prevail 

 against the weight of authority. 



Besides the letters in the series in the article Cohesion in the 

 Supplement of the £nc7/c. jBri/., I shall put y= bx, and a = the 



depression : then a = -^. According to the elements 1 use, 



g = 196 = 14% and 5= -735. 



First, let 2x = 0-5 ; then qx^= 12-25 ; which number being 

 substituted in the series, we get this equation, 



•735 = 3-54G y ^■ 3-019 t/' + G-G95 y'. 



For 



