VOL. XLV.] PHILOSOPHICAL TKANSACTIONS. 5Q7 



The beginning precisely at 8*^ 37"^ 36* 



Beginning of the annulus at 10 O 10 



End of the annuUis at lO 5 10 



End of the eclipse at 11 2Q 30 



By comparing his observation with that sent him by Mr. Irwine at Elgin, he 

 imagines his clock was not set to true time, since there is so great a difference, 

 and more than the difference of longitude between the two places will allow, 

 it being no more than 26 computed miles, and nearly in the same parallel of 

 latitude. 



Mr. Murdock Mackenzie, who has for some years past been making a survey 

 of the islands of Orkney, and whose abilities for such an undertaking gives us 

 hopes he will for the future free navigators of a great many melancholy disasters, 

 which formerly happened in those seas, through the want of true charts, made 

 the following observation at Kirkwall in the island of Pomona in Orkney, the 

 latitude of which is 58° 58' n. 



Beginning of the eclipse about B^ 40"" 



End of the eclipse about 11 37 



He says, that, by reason of clouds, he could not be perfectly exact, as to the 

 precise time of beginning or ending; but adds, that the beginning cannot be 

 more than 4"" wrong, nor the end more than 2"*. He says, he is sure he did 

 not see it annular, but that there remained about ^ or ^ of the sun's circum- 

 ference intercepted at the middle of the eclipse. 



P. S. It having been an opinion pretty generally received, that the darker parts 

 of the moon's surface are water, Mr. S. takes this opportunity to remark, that 

 though those less lucid spaces are for the most part, to appearance, evenly ex- 

 tended surfaces, when telescopes of small magnifying powers are made use of; 

 yet when they are examined with larger magnifiers, it is easy to discern on them 

 many protuberances in a longitudinal direction ; and that these risings are really 

 elevated above the common plane surface, is past all question, from their pro- 

 jecting shadows, always opposite to the sun ; moreover they are of the very same 

 colour as the plane they arise from, of the like smooth surfaces, without any 

 sensible asperities; and invariably the same, under the like positions of the sun 

 to the moon, at least as far as he has been able to discover in 1 2 or 15 years 

 frequent observations of them. : 



On two Extraordinary Belemnitce. By Mr. David Ershin Baher^ 



N" 490, p. 598. 

 Various have been the opinions of authors concerning the origin of the Be- 

 lemnitae, and as various the systems and hypotheses advanced by them in support 

 of their opinions; some having imagined them vegetable productions; others 



