Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/172

162 France, at the ditance of more than 700,000 toies outh, had been greater by twelve degrees than we found it near the coat of that land—a great difference when conidered as ariing merely from change of latitude.

The greatet W. variation oberved, was on the 3d of March. It was then 30½°, our lat. being 34° 30′ S. and long. 37° 45′ E. From that time it continued to decreae, till it became 0, in lat. 43° S. long. 129° E.; after which it paed to E. and continued to increae in proportion as we advanced eatward.

The W. variation of the magnetic needle, as oberved till the period when it was the greatet, had been more influenced by change of longitude than of latitude; though from that time, till we were under the meridian of Ile de France, it appeared to depend much more upon change of latitude; for, from the point at which it had been the greatet, till we paed under the meridian of Ile de France, having changed our longitude by 17 degrees, and our latitude by 2½, the variation had been only 4°, though, by a change of latitude to 17 degrees further outh, the variation had been found 12° more than at Ile de France.

The phoporecence of the ea, during this paage, had diminihed in an invere proportion to our ditance from the land; o that a coniderable time