memory, without any assistance of books. The first ah gee of 
merit were made, | think in 1793, by Prof. Guglielmini. He m 
bodies fall from a height of 231 feet. As the earth rotates from ion 
to east, each point in or upon her describes an arc proportioned to its 
distance from the axis; and, therefore, the falling body has, from the 
beginning of the fall, a greater tendency towards the east than the point 
of the surface which lies perpendicularly below it. Thus, it must strike 
a point lying somewhat east of the perpendicular. Sull, the odiffer- 
ence is so small, that great heights are necessary for giving mts a de- 
viation of some ‘tenth parts of an inch. The experiments of Gugliel-. 
mini gave indeed such a deviation ; but.at the same time, they gave a 
deviation to the south, which was not in accordance with the mathe- 
matical calculations. "Laplace objected to these experiments, on the 
ground that the author had not verified his perpendicular, until some 
months afierwards. In the beginning of this century, Dr, Benzenberg 
undertook new experiments, froma. height of about feet. The 
book in which he describes his oe contains, in an appendix, 
researches and illustrations upon the subject from Gauss and Olbers 5 
to which several. abstract Is 4 older arenes are added. The paper 
these experiments have considerable ee among themselves, 
and that their mean, therefore, cannot be of et value. In some 
other experiments made afterwards in a deep pit, Dr. ob- 
tained only the easterly qefanen i but they seem not to deserve more 
confidence. Greater faith is o be p laced in the experiments tried by 
et Reich in a pit of 504 feet, at Freiberg. Here the easterly devi 
ious reasons and suggestions with abi a repeating the obser- 
vations 
Sir J. Herscuet said, that from a conversation with M. Oersted he 
had been inclined to think that the deviation of falling bodies towards, 
the south in these northern latitudes—which was an. observed | act, al~ 
the mere oh constant, in ond is iecdonedie proportion to Sree fed 
e is the ‘result ; and total. deviation, 
pe Aa towards be aia ke be in the proportion of the height 
from which the body descended, since it is easy to see that its entire 
course would be rectilinear. This fact, therefore, which could readily 
be determined by well conducted observations, would be a decisive test 
