OF SELBORNE. 339 



Any person that is curious, and enjoys the advantage 

 of a good horizon, might, with little trouble, make two 

 heliotropes; the one for the winter, the other for the 

 summer solstice: and these two erections might be 

 constructed with very little expense ; for two pieces of 

 timber framework, about ten or twelve feet high, and 

 four feet broad at the base, and close lined with plank, 

 would answer the purpose. 



The erection for the former should, if possible, be 

 placed within sight of some window in the common 

 sitting parlour; because men, at that dead season of 

 the year, are usually within doors at the close of the 

 day; while that for the latter might be fixed for any 

 given spot in the garden or outlet: whence the owner 

 might contemplate, in a fine summer's evening, the 

 utmost extent that the sun makes to the northward at 

 the season of the longest days. Now nothing would be 

 necessary but to place these two objects with so much 

 exactness, that the westerly limb of the sun, at setting, 

 might but just clear the winter heliotrope to the west of 

 it on the shortest day ; and that the whole disc of the 

 sun, at the longest day, might exactly at setting also 

 clear the summer heliotrope to the north of it. 



By this simple expedient it would soon appear that 

 there is no such thing, strictly speaking, as a solstice : 

 for, from the shortest day, the owner would, every clear 

 evening, see the disc advancing, at its setting, to the 

 westward, of the object; and, from the longest day, 

 observe the sun retiring backwards every evening at its 

 setting towards the object westward, till, in a few nights, 

 it would set quite behind it, and so by degrees to the 

 west of it : for when the sun comes near the summer 

 solstice, the whole disc of it would at first set behind 

 the object; after a time the northern limb would first 

 appear, and so every night gradually more, till at length 

 the whole diameter would set northward of it for about 

 three nights ; but on the middle night of the three, sen- 

 sibly more remote than the former or following. When 



