1818.] Philosophical Transactions, 1818. Part I. 447 



frozen, probably the ice might have just as great an effect in 

 destroying the tides as land would have. The shallowness of 

 the Frozen Ocean seems to be greater, according to the observa- 

 tion ofCapt. Ross, at a distance from land than in its immediate 

 neighbourhood. Upon the whole, this point of geography does 

 not seem to be fully decided. Are we to hope for a full decision 

 of it from the voyage of discovery made last summer under the 

 command of Capt. Ross. 



III. Additional Facts respecting the fossil Remains of an 

 Animal, on the Subject of which two Papers have been printed in 

 the Philosophical Transactions, showing that the Bones of the 

 Sternum resemble those of the Ornithorhi/uchus Paradoxus By 

 Sir Everard Home, Bart. V.P.R.S.— The author had been 

 favoured with several new specimens of the fossil bones of this 

 unknown animal by the Rev. Peter Hawker, of Woodchester 

 rectory, Minchinhampton, and Dr. Carpenter, of Lyme. He 

 has been enabled in consequence to ascertain a strong resem- 

 blance in the bones of the sternum to the ornithorhynchus para- 

 doxus. He has satisfied himself that the animal must have 

 breathed air, and that it must have lived constantly in the water. 



IV. An Account of Experiments for determining the Length of 

 the Pendulum vibrating Seconds in the Latitude of London. By 

 Capt. Henry Kater, F.R.S.— This interesting experiment has 

 fortunately fallen into the hands of a gentleman whose sagacity 

 and experimental skill have enabled him to do full justice to the 

 subject : hence there is every reason to be satisfied that the 

 result obtained is exceedingly near the truth. His mode of expe- 

 rimenting was founded upon the known fact that the centres of 

 suspension and oscillation are reciprocal. He made these two 

 points alternately the points of suspension, and by shiftino- a 

 moveable weight rendered the number of oscillations the same in 

 equal times in both cases. The pendulum consisted of a bar of 

 platinum with three moveable weights. It moved upon a knife edge. 

 A minute account is given of the structure of this instrument, of 

 the mode of estimating the vibrations and measuring the length 

 of the pendulum. But for all this, we must refer to the paper 

 itself. The general result of the whole is, that a pendulum vibrat- 

 !£I sec°nds m vacuo at the Iey el of the sea, at the temperature of 

 o2 Fahrenheit, mthe north latitude of 51° 31' 8'4" has the fol- 

 lowing length : 



Inches. 



By Sir George Shuckburgh's standard 39T3860 



By Gen. Roy's standard 39-13717 



By Bird's parliamentary standard 39-13842 



Sir George Shuckburgh's standard is preferred by Capt. Kater. 

 Bouguer found the length of the second's pendulum at the equa- 

 tor 38-9949 English inches. It appears from Dr. Maskelyne's 

 experiments (Phil. Traus. 1762, p. 434), that the length of the 



