ioo Mr. Lax's Method offindhig the Latitude of a Place , 
whether its advantages might not be more than sufficient to com- 
pensate this inconvenience. The table should at least be carried 
to such a length as would enable us to proceed in this manner, 
whenever an observation was made within five or six degrees of 
the meridian. 
I must not forget to observe, before I conclude the theory, that 
although I have directed the altitudes to be taken on different sides 
of the meridian, it is by no means requisite that we should inva- 
riably adhere to this precept. We have seen the reason, indeed, 
why it is expedient, in most instances, to prefer this method, as 
being generally calculated to produce a much greater degree of 
exactness in the result. This, however, is not always the case ; 
for, if one of the observations be made beyond the distance 
originally prescribed, it is of little importance whether the 
second altitude be taken on the same side of the meridian, or 
not. But it will sometimes be impossible to make the observa- 
tions on different sides of noon ; and hence it becomes necessary 
to inquire in what manner the real latitude may be discovered in 
these circumstances. The clock gives us the interval betwixt the 
observations equal to ae — ae; and by computation we find ag 
and ag, and thence we deduce eg — eg, the difference be- 
twixt the errors in time. Having then assumed, without any 
regard to accuracy, two portions of time, corresponding to the 
two observations, whose difference is the same as the difference 
betwixt the errors before determined, and which are to each 
other in the inverse ratio of the hour-angles, we must increase 
or diminish them both equally, till we get the areas in the first 
table of the same magnitude, and then we may conclude that 
we have obtained the proper value of each. The directions 
which have been given for the prevention of errors in the 
