330 
Mr. Christie’s theory of the 
lat. 64° 28' N, long. 113° 06' W, where the variation was 
36° 24' E ; those made by Canton in London in 1139, when 
the variation was nearly 19° W ; and the highly interesting 
observations made by Lieut. Foster in the early part of 1825, 
at Port Bowen, lat. 73° 14^ N, long. 88° 54' W, and where 
the variation was 124° W. 
As Colonel Beaufoy had for so many years observed the 
course of the variation of the needle with the most zealous 
care, and having the advantage of the best instruments, I 
hoped to have been able to procure a set of his observations 
at every hour during the day, for a considerable period of 
time ; and I have no doubt, had it not been for the recent loss 
which science has sustained by the death of that able and 
indefatigable observer, that whatever observations he had 
made, that could at all have been applicable to the purpose I 
had in view, would have been placed at my command, with 
that liberality for which he was so much distinguished. His 
published observations, which were commenced in the year 
1813, were generally made between 8 and 9 o’clock in the 
morning, and 1 and 2 in the afternoon, with the view of 
determining the maximum easterly and the maximum westerly 
deviations. The last observations to which the times are 
given are for March 1822, and the mean of these gives 
8^ 32“ A. M. as the time of the maximum east, and 1'" 29™ 
P. M. as the time of the maximum west; the mean daily 
variation being 8' 58", and the mean maximum westerly 
variation 24° 36' 36". An observation was likewise made 
between 6 and 7 P. M. but the maximum easterly deviation 
in the evening does not generally appear to have been deter¬ 
mined : however, after the observations for July 1813, 
