74 Mechanical Fhilosophi;, 



ciples of another system, produced what has beerr 

 since called the Gregorian Kalendar. In forming 

 this method of computation eleven days were an-- 

 ticipated or lopped off from the old Kalendar, 

 and a plan attempted for maintaining more chro- 

 nological accuracy, by a proper distribution of 

 Epacts through the year. The Gregorian Style, 

 thus formed, was soon adopted by all the Catholic 

 states, and in most of the Protestant countries, be- 

 fore the commencement of the eighteenth century. 

 In Britain, however, and her dependencies, and 

 m a few other Protestant states, the Julian or Old 

 Style was not given up for a number of years af- 

 terwards. In 1752, by an act of the British Par- 

 liament, the Gregorian Kalendar was adopted, and, 

 at the same time, the Ecclesiastical Year, which 

 had before commenced on the 25th of March^ 

 was made to coincide with the Civil Year, and 

 ordered, like that, to be computed from the first 

 of January. 



Besides the great names, and the important 

 discoveries and improvements above detailed, it 

 could be easy to add to the list many more abun- 

 dantly worthy of notice. The numerous observa- 

 tions and writings of Ferguson, Lax, Vince,. 

 and others of Great-Britain; of Bailly, De Par- 

 CEVAL, Bernier, Sejour, and Duvaucel, of 

 France; of Lambert, Grischow, Olbers, De 

 Wahl, Wurm, and Klugel, of Germany; of 

 Bianchini, Frisi, Manfredi, Zanotti, Oddi,. 

 Cagnoli, and Oriani, in Italy; of Klingensti- 

 ERNA, Mallet, Prosperin, and Melander- 

 HiELM, in Sweden; of Rcemer, Loowenoern, 

 Bugge, and Wurbierg, in Denmark; and of many 

 others, in almost every part of Europe, have all 

 contributed something to the astronomical im- 

 provements of the age, and facilitated the acquis!- 

 tion of astronomical knowledge. 



