426 Proceeclings of the Asiatic Society. [No. 4, 



ricketty condition. It has nine sides. If these are exactly suited to 

 the latitude, the place for which it was made was in latitude 27° 56' or 

 thereabouts. If the latitude of the place did not accord with an exact 

 number of sides, then it must have been between 26° 40' and 29° 12' 

 that is, corresponding to 8£ and 9^ sides. Delhi lies between these 

 last two latitudes. The instrument may, therefore, have been made 

 for that city. 



" The manner of using the instrument appears to be this. Suppose 

 the day that you use it is the one of which the length is 50 minutes 

 longer than the shortest day; then as 50 = 2 X 24 + 2 and 24 minutes 

 make aghatika, you must screw the gnomon into the hole in the third 

 side, in which the figures run down the third shortest length. Then 

 hang up the instrument and turn it round, thus hanging, so that the 

 shadow of the gnomon may fall on the length of the instrument ; 

 the extremity of the shadow will point out the hour of the day in 

 ghatikas from sunrise or sunset as it is before or after noon. 



" The instrument is certainly curious, though of no particular scien- 

 tific valué." 



Colonel Baird Smith communicated to the meeting the following 

 interesting particulars respecting the constructor of the dial. 



" Lena Singh Majeteeah, the constructor of the Pr atocia Dial, was the 

 representative of a well known distinguished Sikh family. He did 

 not take any very prominent part in the Sikh campaign, but his bro- 

 ther Eunjoor Singh commanded the Khalsa army at the battle of 

 Aliwal where, as all know, he was signally overthrown by the forcé 

 under Sir Harry Smith. On that occasion an exquisitely beautiful 

 battery of six field guns, the property of Lena Singh, and the produce, 

 probably, of the same workshops which produced the Pr atocia Dial, 

 was captured. Nothing could surpass the whole design and details 

 of these guns, and while they were ornamented with great taste, they 

 were at the same time good working guns, and had been vigorously 

 used during the day. 



" Lena Singh had very considerable mechanical capacity. He enjoy- 

 ed greatly hearing of all forms of mechanical invention. The long 

 range and explosión shells for guns were favorite subjects of experi- 

 ment and discussion with him, and he was altogether a notable man 

 among his race, and in his position as a Sikh Chieftain of large pos- 



