34 



ifi the aixj Ujey aijpeaj reJ. They frequently make their 

 iiesu in cocoa-nut trees, wh«re they eat the nule ; they 

 are also fond of all nthef kitida of fruit. Their clawi are 

 like hooks; when on the ground they cannot rise, but are 

 obliged to crawl up a tree, where they let themielve* fall 

 down, and then get on the wing. They devour the fruita 

 of the gardens, on which account the naiivet hunt them with 

 their pales, or pierce their winga wiih bambooSj when they full 

 to the ground. The body is like that of a large rat ; when 

 deprived of tlieir lege and wings, and boiled, (he taste ia 

 like that of a field rat, but much fatter and finer, I have 

 heard it eaid, that in three iliousand yean they become white, 

 and then if you eat one you will attain to immortality ; but I 

 have not eeen anything of the kind. 



OTHER THINGS WORTHY OF OBSERVATION. 



TEIE (^UAnHANT 3^ OR HE A VEN-MEASORINO RULE, 



When Europeans navigate the ocean, they do not depend 

 solely on the compase, but make uae of a quadrant, to mea- 

 sure the heavena, by which they know how far the vesael 

 has sailed. They can also, by the inspection of mapi, know 

 what ground they have, whether santJ^ rocks, or mud, with- 

 out the leaet failure. The form of the quadrant ia something 

 like a fan, when opened out ; it has a horisontal rule and an 

 oblique one ; the former is divided into degrees and minutes, 

 on which lome European leltera are written. Whenever 

 Ihey maaBure the heavens, they do it exactly at noon* when 

 the eun h in the meridian. The horizontal rule remains fix- 

 ed, and by moving the slanting one backwarda and forwards 

 they aacertain the disuince they have sailed, together with 

 the depth of water. The princi(Ue of this is rather ab&truse. 

 Some Chinese have endeavoured to acquire the knowledge of 

 it, but have not succeeded. 



barometeh i§f 0'* tube for ascertaining the 



WKATHRR. 



Of this there are two kinds, one about the size of a quill, 



