46 Miédler’s Review of Schubert's 
Art. VI.—The True Figure of the Earth—Notice by Madler in 
Prof. Heis’ Wochenschrift fiir Astronomie, Meteorologie und 
Geographie, No. 51 and 52. Dec. 21 and 28, 1859.* 
Essai d’une détermination de la véritable figure de la terro. Par T. F. pz Scuvu- 
BERT. St. Petersbourg, 1859. 
Ts brief but very important paper treats of a question which 
has engaged mankind for ages, and treats it in such a way as to 
conyinee us that an essential step forward has been taken to- 
wards its final determination. 
It is not intended to recapitulate the history of opinions and 
notions which antiquity, as well as the middle ages, had formed 
on this topic so generally interesting, as it does not belong to 
the plan of the work to be discussed. 
latitudes, the latitudes of their extremities being astronomically 
; +h; 
bs 
supposition that any nearer approach had been made to the ob- 
ject of research. 
n the course of the eighteenth century measures of ares of 
the meridian were executed or attempted in France, Austria, 
Italy and Pennsylvania, at the Cape of Good Hope and other 
places. Their comparison made it apparent that the compression 
Tt), as at first concluded, was too great, and that it must be 
reduced one half or even more. Yet the uncertainty remained 
very considerable. 
€ measurement of arcs was continued in the nineteenth 
* Translated for the American Journal of Science by Cuantes A. Sonorr, Assist- 
ant, and communicated by Prof. A. D. Bacur, Supt. U.S. Coast Survey. 
