34 
then offered'me their fervices, on feeing 
my firman, to enable me to botanize in 
the country thirty leagues diftant, at a 
place which had been formerly vifited by 
the Ruffians and other Europeans. I was 
much embarrafled at this offer,as I wifhed 
at prefent to remain a8 Trebizond, to ob- 
ferve fome approaching eclipfes of the 
fatellites of Jupiter, and I could not well 
go to a diltance to collect plants, without 
pofiefiing fome botanical knowledge. I 
therefore affected to be afraid of the Lazes ; 
but they anfwered, that they would give 
mean efcort; I alleged the heat of the 
feafon, but they gave me to underftand, 
that if one comes from France to Trebi- 
zond to gather herbs, one need not de- 
cline to go thirty leagues farther on the 
fame object. This argument was unan- 
fwerable; but the days and nights deftined 
for my aftronomical obfervations were 
limited, fo that I had nothmg left but to 
truft to effrontery, and I perfuaded them 
that there were growing on the fhores of 
Trebizond certain fhrubs, the feeds of 
which were wanted at Paris, and if we 
could not find them here, we fhould feek 
for them on other parts of the coaft. 
To keep up appearances, and to conceal 
entirely our aftronomical obfervations, my 
afliftants and myfelf, when in the prefence 
of our guards, affected tohave our eyes 
always upon the drawings of plants -in 
‘Tournefort’s book. I wiflied to fee the 
bifhops of the town, as they were the 
only perfons who could give us any infor- 
mation concerning Trebizond, and pro- 
cure me the feeds of curious plants; but 
the beys would not indulge me in this re- 
{pect. 
We fpent the day in our gloomy houfe ; 
towards evening our guards led us toa 
garden in the town. We looked for the 
chamerododendra, of which Xenophon and 
Tournefort fpeak. According to the ac- 
count of this learned naturaliit, this 
plant fhould be very common in the neigh- 
bourhood of Trebizond, and along the 
whole coaft, as far as Sinope. I could not 
find it however ; but I every where met 
with the common, and the rofe laurel. 
I might perhaps have difcovered it at 
Alkliman, near Sinope, for I faw there a 
fhrub with fmooth glofly leaves, and ofa 
lively green, fimilar in form to thofe of the 
laurel: it bore a {mall yellowifh fruit, rough 
and hard to the touch. I will here men- 
tion a fingular circumftance concerning 
Tournefort. This naturalift fays, that 
the fhores of the Black Sea are covered 
with box; but I found this fhrub (which 
I perfe&ily well Know) very rarely. 
Geography of the Black Sea. 
[Febad, 
Being often detained by contrary winds, at 
different ports of this coaft, we had time 
to examine the fea-fhore, and even fre- 
quently the woods adjoining, and we ge- 
nerally found the myrtle, a plant which it 
is impoffible to miftake after one has lived 
in Syria. : 
Out of all the flowers which I fought for, 
at Trebizond, I could only gather fome 
lily-roots and a few others, which I fent 
to Paris. 
On the 27th of Jure, I commenced 
my aftronomical obfervations, to afcer- 
tain the longitude of Trebizond, which 
employed me thirteen days, ‘The follow~- 
ing are the general refults which I obtain- 
ed, by three different kinds of obferva- 
tion, namely, the diftance of the moon 
fron the fun, the time-piece, and the 
eclipfes of Jupiter’s fatellites. 
r.—On the 30th of June, the dif- 
ference of longitude between Green- 
wich and Trebizond, by lunar dif .°, 
tance * : . ¢ 39 33 
The 1ft of July, alfo by lunar dif 
tance 2 39 45 
Mean difference f 5 39 39 
Subtract the difference between. 
Greenwich and Paris , = 2.26 
Diftance of Trebizond from Paris, 
ealt longitude 5 : E 37 19 
2.—By comparifon ‘of time, at 
Conftantinople with that of Trebi- 
zond pri 
June 27th : & 42 51. 
28th ; ° . 42 36.6 
eothiy ., ts \ “ 42 41.6 
July 2d ‘ : ° 42 51 
Mean. ‘ P 5 42 45 
The mean difference between 
Trebizond and Conftantinople is 
42’ 45" of time, which, reduced to 
degrees of the equator, gives 
ro? 41’ 15”, and by adding 
26° 36’ 15'’, the difference of lon- 
gitude between Paris and Conftan- 
tinople, I have for the longitude 
of ‘Trebizond, eaft of Paris 37 17 30 
3.—The obfervations of the immerfion 
of Jupiter's fatellites gave me for the lon- 
gitude of Trebizond, eaft of Paris. 
6 
On the rf of July ° 37 20 15 
zoth F e 37. 15-15 
he 
