294 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO I706. 



one in particular so covered, that a large piece of the rock was left upon the 

 top of the chimney. These things my neighbour was an eye-witness of, and 

 had many a toilsome day in clearing some part of his land. His house was 

 for some time full of people, who had lost their habitations by this sudden 

 accident. 



Observations of the Solar Eclipse, May I — 12, 1706, at the Royal Observatory 



at Greenwich, &c. By the Rev. Mr. John Flams teed^ Math. Reg. and F.R.S. 



N° 306, p. 2237. 



The morning was cloudy and moist, till about 8 o'clock, when the clouds 

 began to break, and afforded a sight of the sun through the spaces between 

 them. A seven-foot telescope was fitted up with a scene, to receive the species 

 of the sun cast through it, and on which it was about 7 inches diameter, divided 

 into digits by 6 concentric circles. But clouds intervening, frequently ren- 

 dered this way of observing inconvenient; therefore laying aside the apparatus 

 of the scene, I viewed it through the same telescope with smoked glasses, 

 to save my eyes, and noted as follows ; where the times, in the morning, were 

 those of the pendulum clock corrected. 



8h. 21m. 30s. a very small part of the sun's diameter was eclipsed. — 8h. 28m. 

 the cord of the arc of the sun's periphery eclipsed was 14' AO": then followed 

 frequent clouds through the spaces between, then some zenith distances of the 

 sun were taken, for correcting the clock; and afterwards, near the middle of 

 the eclipse; at Qh. 21m. 46s. the parts of the diameter remaining clear 5 00; at 

 26m. 20s. the same clear parts 4 30. At lOh. 31m. 50s. frequent large clouds 

 again till the sun appeared through the breaks, and we saw the eclipse was not 

 ended. Clouds again till lOh. 33m. 50s, when the sun shone out again, we 

 *aw his limb entire, and the eclipse certainly over. 



At Canterbury Mr. St. Gray had prepared a scene placed behind his seven- 

 foot glass, so that the species of the sun projected on it was 7 inches over; but 

 having the same sort of weather we had at Greenwich, he did not see the be- 

 ginning, by reason of clouds ; but other phases with the end he noted as 

 follows: corrected times by the clock. 



At 8h. 53m. 5^- digits darkened — ph. 8m. 7 digits — 3Im. 10 or more digits — 

 36m. decreasing — 55m. 7-r a little clearer — 57m. 6^ — lOh. 2m. 6 — 4m. 54 — 

 14m. 4 — 16m. 3^ — 20m. 24 — 30m. 1 — 31m. 0| — lOh. 364^m. the end accu- 

 rately with a tube of 1 6 feet. 



At Horton, near Bradford in Yorkshire. — Mr. Abr. Sharp* cast the species 



* Mr. Sharp, by private study, became an eminent astronomer, mathematician, and mechanist. 

 He was descended of an ancient family at Little Horton^ near Bradford, Yorkshire, where he was 



