24. LIGHT SCIENCE FOE LEISURE HOURS. 



Along the boundary line, of course, the needle points 

 due north. England is situated in the regioS- of 

 westerly magnets. This region includes all Europe, 

 except the north-eastern parts of Russia; Turkey, 

 Arabia, and the whole of Africa ; the greater part of 

 the Indian Ocean, and the western parts of Australia ; 

 nearly the whole of the Atlantic Ocean ; Greenland, 

 the eastern parts of Canada, and a small slice from the 

 north-eastern part of Brazil. All these form one 

 region of westerly declination ; but singularly enough, 

 there lies in the very heart of the remaining and larger 

 region of easterly magnets an oval space of a contrary 

 character. This space includes the Japanese Islands, 

 Manchouria, and the eastern parts of China. It is 

 very noteworthy also, that in the westerly region the 

 declination is much greater than in the easterly. Over 

 the whole of Asia, for instance, the needle points almost 

 due north. On the contrary, in the north of Green- 

 land and of Baffin's Bay, the magnetic needle points 

 due west ; while still further to the north (a little 

 westerly), we find the needle pointing with its north 

 end directly towards the south. 



In the presence of these peculiarities, it would be 

 pleasant to speculate. We might imagine the existence 

 of powerfully magnetic veins in the earth's solid mass, co- 

 ercing the magnetic needle from a full obedience to the 

 true polar summons. Or the comparative effects of oceans 

 and of continents might be called into play. But unfor- 

 tunately for all this, we have to reconcile views founded 

 on fixed relations presented by the earth with the pro- 



