The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1810-12-29

tncory was to be found in Galileo's system
OF me universe; but that the fu,ilty of il
had long since been shewn and exposed by
many authors; and particularly by Mr..
Vince and Mr. La Laude i'm their as.rono
mics Mr. Wood then tells us that Bishop
Madison and Mr. Blackburn had consulted
Vince and De La LaGde, and found no men
ton OF the subject in either of these authors.
Now let the reader take notice, that MIR.
Wood's theory consists OF the principle that
by the diurnal & annual motions of the earth a
point on the earth's surface has a yariab le
velocity. from which he leduces the phe no
mena otthe tides, &c. and then read the fol =
lowing quotations
La V'nce's ASTRONOMY. vol ii. chap xxxviii
page 21S, Edition of 1899, we have the fol-
lowing passage
Calico thought that the tides were ow
ing To the rotatory motion of the earth about
its axis, and its revolution about the sun !.
Out the phenomena can by no means be solv
Gu by these causes, as the former motion
Could only make the earth put on the form
OF an oolete SpherOid, subject 70 no Change
and the latter would produce no effect ON
the surface
Again in La Lande's astronomy, vol 4.
quarto, published IN 1871 (Which treats of the
tides IN SfS pages) we have the following
passages in pages 10 ii 90.
He '"uuNcHent Olurne ana annue' de Ia
terre surent sur.tout employees pour IexDli-
cation des ynarees, & Calico avoit dome a
cette application une certaine celebrite.''
And speaking Of the same subject. La Lande
quotes Galileo's book (de systematic mundi :,
/ DIAL q. page $3.50 and s'ys. in the same sec
ton,
l----- il en- substitua une autre
tonde sur Pinegalire du movement absolu
de la terre, resultante de l'assembIape
du movement annuel, ct Gu movement
diurne Entire les differences parties de la
terre, IL en- qui, par lie movement di-
urne, Won't. du meme cote qui, par lie mouve-
ment annuel. & qui ont la somme DIES deux
vitesses, tandIs que les parties oppo-
possess. on celles qui regardent lie soljeI N,
ont que la difference des deux nsemes vites
SEES"
In the same section Mr.. La Lande tells
Us that Calico was 'refuted by p Riccioli
IN his .ffmag nov T. il. f. 357-by p.
fournler in his photography, edition OF 164s
page 400, and by Cassini in Mem. de PAca-
demie 1713, p. 800 & 277 and in the Goth
section, page Is OF the aforementioned vol
OF La L 'nde. the author speaking of this nv
pothesis OF Calico and those of several others
says =
Toutes ces hypothesis sout 81 frivoles
| que Giles ne meritent, ce me semble. aucune
esPece d'attention"-
In the History of the Royal Academy of
Sciences for the year 17I5, pages $50. $50.
we md full account OF Galileo's system.
ana a refutatIon by Gassini, in which &C
count, 1t is expressly stated, that the yeIo
city is greater on the side opposite to the
sun.
Again in Lowthorp's Abrig. of Phil
rams. vol. ii~pages 269. 27O, 271, there
u, Is minute account of this system By DR..
wallis, who makes use OF geemetrical
hgure to illustrate the method of reasoning,
and says, But the true motion Of each part
OF the earth's surface being compounded
OF these two motions, the Annual and Di
urnal :" and,in page 1913 of the same book,
Dr. Wallis applies similar theory to the
trade winds as well as TO the tides
ln'he English Ladies Diary for 174s
we n nd prohlen. BY M. p. Heath. vi,
the cycioidal path and unequal motion of
point on the surface OF the earth arising
from the annual and diurnal motions COM
pounded together.
Having thus shewn that Mr.. Woods
principle for explaining the Causes of the
sides, trade winds, &c. has been long
known, beg leave to su6join the follow
ing observations
In the first place, Mr.. Wood seems to me
TO be iairiy entitled TO the merit of having
invented his system, notwithstanding us
having been famlliarly known long before
this will readily be admitted by sUch as are
acquainted with his book, and his various
essays on this subject and as his pr1ncipie
has been admitted by those Eminent PbiIo
sophers and Mathematicians Calico and
Dr. Wallis, he deserves, in my opinion. the
praise OF ingenuity. Besides, though his
fundamental principle be precisely the same
with that OF Calico. yet IN the application
&c -,
ders the velocity Of particle as having a
tendency to produce an unequal angular We
locity about the centre of the earth and
consequently an accumulation of the ocean
IN some places but Mr.. Wood considers
the unequal velocity OF particle as having
tendency to Change the weight of the par.
hcle towards the centre of the earth. and
consequently to produce an elevation Of the
ocean in scmc places. Thus it appears.
that the fall extent and application of the
general principe were not perceived either
~ Calico or by Mr.. Wood.
IN the mex place, let MIR Wood reflect
that though the subject admits of Complete
demonstration, yet the great Mathematical
ans OF tie eighteenth century have not "a
doptedIhe we'll known principle OF Calico.
in order to account for the tides that NOT
withstanding the difficulty of The problem.
Mr. Woods application TO such studies is
rscenl, as he himself coniesses, and as is
evident from several uneq uivoc al signs in
various parts Of his book that there can be
no dispute on this subject unless one of the
parties be deficient IN the geometry and
mechanics OF Newton and then his good
sense will lead aim to suspect that posi-
by his theory OF the tides may be deiec-
tive.
However asno authority Of great names
can CuuutprDoiqa 20 ,..ta-i,e - d..