160 



Miscellanies. 



For the convenience of computers, the local times above given have 

 been reduced to their corresponding value for the State House by E. O. 

 Kendall, by means of his formulce, in Vol. xx, of the Journal of the 

 Franklin Institute, p. 125, which gives the following values for the vari- 

 ation of the local times of the several phases, for a small variation of ter- 

 restrial latitude or longitude, as follows : — 



Besinning. King. 



End. 



Variation for 4 or north 1" terr. lat. = - 0.0397-0.0382 - 0.0343 



Do. 4-or west Is. of terr. Ion. in time=-l .2600- 1.1400-0.9925 



The means of his results for the State House, giving to each observa- 

 tion its proper weight, in mean time of the State House, are, 



Beginning, 



Formation of ring. 



Rupture of ring. 



End, 



Duration of eclipse, 



Duration of ring. 



h. VI. s. 



3 13 10.06 



4 31 18.76 



4 35 31.35 



5 45 15.46 

 2 32 5.40 



4 12.59 



Mr. Du Ponceau presented a communication, entitled " A Vocabulary 

 of the Language of the Valiente Indians, who inhabit the State of Costa 

 Rica, in Central America, by Col. D. Juan Galindo, of Guatemala." 

 Referred to the Historical and Literary Committee. 



Mv. Nulty read a mathematical paper, entitled "New Formulse relative 

 to Comets, by E. Nulty, of Philadelphia." Referred to Dr. Patterson, 

 Mr. Walker, and Capt. Talcott. 



The subject of this paper was the component velocities of a comet, ob- 

 served at three consecutive and moderately small intervals of time. In a 

 preliminary notice of his subject and the means employed in its devel- 

 opment, the author mentioned some advantages which he conceived to be 

 attached to his peculiar mode of investigation. He alluded to different 

 results already known, and, with several novel and general formulae com- 

 prised in his paper, he announced two new sets of expressions which he 

 represented as being directly applicable to the exceptive cases, in which 

 particular observations render the forms hitherto given, doubtful or inde- 

 terminate. He also noticed a numerical application which he made of 

 his formulae and of others connected with the method of Laplace, to the 

 data of the comet of 1803 ; and he intimated that a comparison of the 

 results obtained by him in that and other instances, had led him to some 

 remarks, which he inserted towards the close of his paper, from his opin- 

 ion of their analytical and practical importance. 



Dr. Patterson read a paper by Professor Charles Bonnycastle, of the 

 University of Virginia, containing " Notes of experiments, made August 



