Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/101

Dec.] being much tronger than thoe of copper, do not yield to that degree of preure which bends the others.

This ource of error affords an additional reaon why mariners ought to give the preference to the circle of reflexion, invented by Citizen Borda. The facility with which any errors that may arie from the graduation, are rectified by cros obervations, in the ue of this intrument, gives it a very great uperiority over all others.

I regret that this valuable intrument, though o eay in its application, is not more generally in ue. Each of our officers poeed one of them, and during the coure of the expedition every one learnt to ue it with certainty.

With a little practice an oberver may take the longitude within 10, or 15,000 toies; and there is reaon to believe, that when the lunar tables hall have attained a greater degree of perfection, the obervations will approximate till nearer to the truth.

Though the plants which I had collected at Teneriffe were very dry when we ailed from that iland, they were become much damaged by the moiture which they had imbibed, during the time that we were between the Tropics, particularly at the lower part of the leaves, where the aborbent