133 Cleveland, the Beacon-Light at the end of the U. S. harbor pier, 134 Columbus, the State Capital, dome of the Capitol, 135 Davenport, the Court-House, 136 Dubuque, centre of the city as now built, 138 Elyria, dome of the Court-House, Ohio. Ohio Iowa. Iowa. of the N. W. terminus of the 139 Erie, steeple of the Court-House, 140 Erie, the Light-House, Penn. 141 Erie, the Beacon-Light at the lakeward end of the U. s. 145 Lyons, intersection of the middles of Exchange and Third Sts., and "City of Rock Island" stage road, 149 Michigan City, centre of the Public Square, Ind. 150 Michigan City, the Light-House, Ind. 151 Michigan City, intersection of Franklin and Michigan Streets, (centres), Ind. 152 Milwaukee, dome of the Court-House, Wis. 153 Milwaukee, steeple of the Roman Catholic Church on Jackson Wis. Street, 155 Milwaukee, the Beacon-Light at the east end of the North Harbor pier, 154 Milwaukee, the Light-House situated near the foot of Wisconsin Street, on the high bank of the lake shore, Wis. Wis. 156 New Buffalo, intersection of the middles of Whittaker Avenue and Mechanics' Street, Mich. 157 New Buffalo, the Light-House, Mich. 158 Niles, intersection of Main and Fourth Streets, Mich. 159 Niles, steeple of Trinity Church (Episcopal) at the S. E. corner of Broadway and Fourth Streets, Mich. 160 Niles, foot of Main St., on the east bank of St. Joseph River, 161 Prairie du Chien, Telegraph-Office at the western terminus of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, on the left or east bank of the Mississippi, Mich. Wis. 162 Racine, dome of the Court-House, Wis. 163 Racine, tower of St. Luke's Church (Episcopal), 164 Toledo, intersection of Jefferson and Superior Streets, (centres,) Ohio. Wis. 165 Toledo, the Raiload Depot, ticket-office, Ohio. 166 Waukegan, dome of the Court-House, The following positions, numbered 169, 170, 171, and 172, are derived from measurement of courses and distances on C. H. Stoddard's map of Scott County, Iowa, and Rock Island County, Illinois, published in 1857, on a scale of one mile to one inch, taking the position of the centre 169 Moline, the south end of the bridge connecting with Rock Island, *170 "Rock Island City," on Rock River, 171 Rock River, its mouth in the Mississippi, the west extremity PART V. Positions determined in connection with the demarcation of the boundary First Exploring Expedition 173 Belgrade, on Sabine River, Texas. or the Iowa. Missouri. 175 Cape Girardeau, right bank of the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, Kansas. 177 Elk-Horn River, a tributary to the River Platte, mouth of, Nebraska 178 Engineer Cantonment, near old Council Bluffs, right bank of the Missouri River, Nebraska. 179 Hickman's House, Sabine River, about one half-mile south of Thompson's Ferry,. Louisiana 180 Hickman's Ferry, left bank of Sabine River, . Louisiana. 181 Logan's Ferry, left bank of Sabine River, La. and Texas boundary 182 Monterey, the Cathedral on the Grand Plaza, 183 Natchez, the old Spanish Fort, Mexico. Mississippi. 184 Pendleton, Gaine's Ferry, Texas. 185 Platte River, the upper cape at its mouth, 186 Pass of the Sabine, Everett's house, Nebraska. Texas. 187 Republican Pawnee Village, on the Loup Fork of the River ERRATA in the Table of Latitudes and Longitudes as printed Page 367, No. 26, Head of Little Black Rapids, in the St. John River, for "latitude 47° 5' 30'," read latitude 47° 5' 3". Page 367, No. 32, Lincoln (True's Tavern), Maine, for "latitude 45° 21' 33"," read latitude 45° 21' 28.3. Same place, for "longitude th. 34m. 11s. 68° 32′ 45'," read longitude 4h. 34m. 3s.5. 68° 30' 52.5. Page 369, No. 44, Park's Hill, Maine and New Brunswick line; the longitude in arc, for 67° 49', read 67° 47'. * See p. 53, note §. of Washington Square in the "City of Rock Island" (see position No. 129 of this Table), as the initial point or point of reference. Understanding that that map was laid down from the U. S. Land Surveys, we think these four positions are given accurately enough for general geographical purposes. between Louisiania and Texas, in the year 1840, and while on Long's in the years 1819 and 1820. at pp. 366 - 369 of the American Almanac for the year 1848. Page 369, No. 46, Pine Island (the head of), of the Seven Island group, in the River St. John, Maine, for "latitude 46° 46′ 53'," read latitude 46° 46′ 52'. Page 369, No. 69, Waterville (Main Street, at the corner of Silver Street), Maine, longitude in arc, for "67° 37'," read 69° 37'. Page 369, No. 70, Woodstock (Grover's Inn), New Brunswick, for "latitude 46° 8' 53"," read latitude 46° 8' 53.9. 3* ON METEOROLOGY. By Professor Joseph Lovering, of Harvard University. THE distinguished meteorologist, Kaemtz, has remarked, that although meteorology is one of the oldest, it is also one of the least advanced sciences. Various causes have conspired to produce this result. Meteorology is not a simple, but a highly complex science. No phenomenon, and no force, is isolated; but all the physical forces of nature-gravity, heat, electricity, and magnetism act together on the same arena, and are not easily distinguishable in the miscellaneous facts which strike the senses. Oersted has asserted, that little has been done in determining the laws of meteorology, because men have sought to discover the first initial change in the atmosphere; and because they have had an overstrained regard for some comprehensive principle, instead of carefully collecting facts and tracing the proximate causes. De Luc's theory, for example, was received with favor, because it embraced the entire mass of phenomena. Misled by this false ambition to grasp everything, and even to predict the future, as in astronomy, upon the unwarrantable assumption that a perfect dynamical theory had been made of the movements of the air, as of the movements of stars, the proud science missed of the humble truths which it might otherwise have grasped. Moreover, in its earlier years, meteorology was studied with poor instruments, and by illiterate persons, who came, therefore, easily to the conclusion, which Humboldt mentions, that the sun gave to negroes their sooty appearance, and crisped and curled their hair. Meteorology was once valued chiefly as furnishing prognostics of the weather. "It is but a few years ago," says Capt. W. H. Smyth, "that the editors of the well-known Moore's Almanac attempted to discard the monthly column, containing the moon's supposed influence on the several members of the human body, as legs, arms, eyes, nose, &c.; and, as an experiment, to ascertain the feeling of the public on the occasion, printed, at first, only one hundred thousand copies. But the omission was speedily detected, and nearly the whole edition was returned on their hands, whence they were obliged to reprint the favorite column. And yet we boast of the march of intellect." † Lagrange related to Arago the following anecdote: "The Academy of Berlin derived formerly its principal revenue from the sale of its Almanac. Ashamed at seeing figure in this publication predictions of every kind, made by chance, or which at least were not founded upon any acceptable principle, a distinguished savant proposed to suppress them and to replace them by clear, precise, and definite information upon objects which seemed to him more interesting to the public. The reform was tried, but the income from the Almanac was so diminished, and, consequently, the revenues of the Academy were so enfeebled, that it became necessary to return to the former errors, and to give, again, predictions in which the authors themselves did not believe." ‡ Similar columns are filled up, now-a-days, without regard to any better rule than that of selecting words just long enough to fill all the unoccupied space. Is it because they sell better, that barometers continue to be stamped with the words, Fair, Cloudy, Rain, &c., as if the condition of the weather depended on the absolute height of the mercurial column, and the same height predicted the same weather at all places, whereas, at the city of Mexico, for example, the mercury would never rise above rain-water mark, and all such localities would be doomed, by the barometer, to perpetual showers? *Cosmos, II. p. 530. Euvres de Arago, Astronomie, IV. pp. 739, 740. † Celestial Cycle, I. p. 24. |