E 497 ] 
mountain in that neighbourhood, which is elevated near 
four miles above the fea, though only about two miles 
above the general level of the province of Quito. By 
their obfervations of the altitudes of fixed liars taken 
with a quadrant of 2^ feet radius, they found the quan- 
tity of 8'' in favour of the attradlion of themotintain,by a 
mean of their obferv^ations. This, indeed, was much iefs 
than they expelled ; but then it is to be confidered, that 
their inflrument was too fmall and imperfe6l for the pur- 
pofe; and that they themfelves were fubjedl to great in- 
conveniencies, being Iheltered from the wind and wea- 
ther by nothing but a common tent, and placed fb high 
up the mountain as the boundary where the fnow begins 
to lie unmelted all the year round. And indeed their ob- 
fervations, doubtlefs owing to thefe caufes of error, dif^ 
fer greatly from one another, and are therefore infuffi- 
cient to prove the reality of an attra6lion of the moun- 
tain Chimbora(}o, although the general refult from them 
is in favour of it. Accordingly, one of the French gentle- 
men themfelves, M. bouguer, who drew up the account 
of their experiment, expreffes his wiflies, that a like expe- 
riment might be made, to find the attradlion of a moun- 
tain in France or England, where he thinks fome might 
be found of fufhcient bulk for the purpofe. This experi- 
ment and thefe remarks were made in the year 1738, 
or above thirty years ago, yet I believe no fimilar experi- 
ment has ever been made in Europe. 
I have made inquiries after a proper hill in this king- 
dom, for the trying of fuch a curious experiment, and 
U u u 2 have 
