316 FERGUSON'S LECTURF&, 



LECT. and from the south pole, every place is north. There- 

 1^1*; fore as the sun is constantly above the horizon of each 

 pole for half a year in its turn, he cannot be said to de- 

 part from the meridian of either pole for half a year to- 

 gether. Consequently, at the north pole it may be said 

 to be noon every moment for half a year ; and let the 

 winds blow from what part they will, they must always 

 blow from the south : and at the south pole, from the 

 north, 



4. Because one half of the ecliptic is above the hori- 

 zon of the pole, and (he sun, moon, and planets, move in 

 (or nearly in) the ecliptic ; they will all rise and set to 

 the poles. But, because the stars never change their 

 declinations from the equator (at least not sensibly in 

 one age) those which are once above the horizon of 

 either pole, never set below it : and those which are 

 one* below it, never rise. 



5. All places of the earth do equally enjoy the benefit 

 of the sun, in respect of time, and are equally deprived 

 of it. 



6. All places upon the equator have their days and 

 nights equally long, that is, 12 hours each, at all times 

 of the year. For although the sun declines alternately 

 from the equator towards the north and towards the 

 south ; yet as the horizon of the equator cuts all the 

 parallels of latitude and declination in halves, the sun 

 must always continue above the horizon for one half a 

 diurnal revolution about the earth, and for the other 

 half below it. 



7. When the sun's declination is greater than the la- 

 titude of any place, upon either side of the equator, the 

 sun will come twice to the same azimuth or point of the 

 compass in the forenoon, at that place ; and twice to a 

 like azimuth in the afternoon ; that is, he will go twice 

 back every day, whilst his declination continues to be 

 greater thau the latitude. Thus suppose the globe rec- 

 tified to the latitude of Barbadoes, which is 13 degrees 



