THWAETED PLANS. 223 



with him some meteorological observations both there and at 

 Berchtesgaden. They set out by way of Steiermark early in 

 October 1797. 



These remarkable men were alike distinguished for their 

 talent and zeal for science ; they equally enjoyed a position of 

 independence, and were free to follow the bent of their genius ; 

 and both had devoted themselves to the same studies in which 

 even their earliest efforts had produced works of intrinsic 

 value. 



Buch published the results of his own labours during this 

 expedition in a complete form in his ' Greognostische Beobach- 

 tungen auf Reisen,' but Humboldt, pressed with preparations 

 for more important enterprises, merely recorded his results in the 

 course of his widely extended correspondence. Some results of 

 Humboldt's labours are also to be found in Buch's work, which 

 could hardly fail to be the case in an undertaking carried on 

 conjointly ; a great number of measurements for determining 

 the height of various places between Salzburg aud Aussee 

 constituted a part of these labours, besides some general 

 meteorological observations, and various experiments with the 

 eudiometer for testing the purity of the air. The value of 

 these labours was enhanced by the circumstance ' that it would 

 not again be easy to combine a place so favourable for observa- 

 tion with observers so eminently accurate and so great a 

 variety of experiments.' 



Some letters written by Humboldt during his stay at Salz- 

 burg to Von Zach, director of the Observatory at Seeberg, near 

 Gotha, were published in the c Greographische Ephemeriden.' In 

 January, 1798, he writes i 1 



'You wish that I should pay some attention to the geo- 

 graphical determination of certain places, and you urge it 

 upon me with so much warmth and energy that I am com- 

 pelled to yield to the force of your eloquence. ... I have 

 started on my journey and have reached Salzburg, where I am 

 awaiting a change in the affairs of Italy. In the meantime I 

 am occupying myself in determining the latitude of this town. 

 I employ a 12-inch sextant by Wright, which is unfortunately 





Allgemeine geographische Ephemeriden/ vol. i. p. 357. 



