The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1830-07-28
THE GREAT ECLIPSE


will be- 32l minutes of a degree that of
the moon, 3ld. Of course the eclipse will
be annular that is, in all places where the
sun viii be centrally eclipsed, at the mo-
ment of the greatest observation, it will eX-
hibit the appearance of beautiful luminous
ring around the moon. Eclipses of this kind
are of less frequent occurrence than those
which are total The center of the eclipse
will first touch the earth's disk in the great
Pacific Ocean, on the morning of Feb. II,
in lat. 81 degrees So minutes N. and long.
40 degrees 3 minutes west from Green
sshy espahedf n9 al q 4 minutes pas six
O'clock, or at 3h. 54m. P NJ, apparent time
at Greenwich. Thence proceeding by a
gentle curve to the south and east; in six
teen minutes it will enter upon the coast of
California, in lat. 81 deg. 30 minutes N.
Thence curving northwardly, in AZ minutes
more, it will enter the United States near
the 5. w. corner of Louisiana, and in six
minutes will cross the Mississippi, near st.
Francisville. Passing through the States
of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia in
81 minutes more it Will arrive at point in
Psndleton county, rs. c. in lat. "a degrees
81 minutes N. long. 81 degrees % minutes
w. where the sun will be centrally eclpsed
on the me ridian. Thence passing over n.
Carolnain Virginia, in II min. it will cross
the James river, near Richmond; and con-
tinuing in nearly direct line, in minutes
will leave the Jersey shore at Little Egg
ESrbor, passing few miles east Of Mon
tauk point in 8 minutes it will leave the
eastern shore as Cape Cod at Wellfest, and
in SIX minutes it viii eater upon the South
western extremity of Nova Scotia. Thence
passing over the Island of Newfoundland,
ox.A Ina al has
the verge of the earth, in 10 minutes more
it will leave its disk in lat. 81 degrees %
minutes, at which point the sun will set
centrally eclipsed at 4 hours 80 minutes or
hours 25 minutes Greenwich time.
The eclipse will have been Oh. 31m. in
crossing the earth's disk, and about hour
from its entrance to the time of its leaving
the United States. A line drawn through
the above points on map of North America,
will pass through all those places where
the eclipse will he central. Two other
lines on each side of the first, at the distance
of so miles, will include all places, in the
United States where it will be annular. Its
penumbra will precede and follow the CEN
ter, at the mean interval of one hour and
thirty minutes, making on the central track
the beginning and end Of the eclipse.
This eclipse will be visible over every
part of the North American continent, and
the West Indies, and will be seen as far
South as the city Of Quito in S. America.
THE ViPER's FANG. The fang of a viper
is a clear and curious example of mechani-
cal contrivance. 1t is perforated tooth,
loose at the root; in its quiet state lying
down fiat upon the jaw, but furnished with
amuscle, which, with jerk, and by the pluck
Under the tooth, close to its root. and SIT IT.
munlcatlng with the nerfnratina t. 80 80 II
bag containing the venom. When the fang
is raised, the closing of the jaw presses its
root against the bag underneath; and the
force of this compression sends out the fluid,
and with considerable impetus, through
the tube in the middle of the tooth. What
more unequivocal or effectual apparatus
could be devised, for the double purpose of
at once inaicting the wound and injecting
the poison? Yet, though lodged in the
mouth, it is so constituted, as in its often
sive and quiescent state, not to interfere
with the animals ordinary Office of recev-
ing its food. 1t has been observed, also,
that none of the harmless serpents, the
black snake, the blind worm, &c., have these
fangs, but teeth of an equal size not move
able as this is, but fixed in the jaw.
PoPuLArIoS OF CHINA AND INDIA. From
statistical table, it appears that the whole pop
ulation of China Proper, exclusive of Tartary
and the dependent provinces, amounts to AL
100000 souls, which, when compared with the
area of surface Of the country, gives an average
OF lO3 souls for every square mile. This, COM
pared with the known averages of some other
countries, would be, China, per square mile, 103
souls Hindostan l0k Austria ITO France
164; England 222. Thus we see that the SO
much Wanted population of China does not
amount to one half Of that of England, compar
ed with the relative extent of territory of each
country.
The population of India is immense. The
amount OF it cannot, of course be known with
any thing like accuracy but the following is
probably as near approximation as can be
made-The Bengal presidency, Sc, 900 900; the
Madras presidency, 100000; the Bombay
presidency, il ,000-total British, So 900 600.
subsidiary and dependent (say) 10000 900; out
ports in the bay, &c. (say) ,000000-total un.
der British control, l26,000,000; independent
states, but awed by the British arms (sayl
tO,OOO ,OOO-approximat total, not EurOpean,
i35'oOO'OOO-total Europeans, about 10000
"A STRIKING SITUATION. | was one of a
crowd of skirmishers who were enabling the
French to carry the Rows of their own defeat
through thick wood, at an infantry canter,
when found myself all at once within few
yards Of one of their regiments in line, which
opened such fire, that had not, rifleman like,
taken instant advantage of the cover of good
firtree, my name would unquestionably been
transferred to posterity by that nights gazette.
And, however opposed il may be TO the usual
system OF drill, will maintain, from that DAVIS
experience, that the cleverest method of teach.
ing a recruit TO stand attention, is to place him
behind tree and hire balls at him; as had our
late worthy disciplinarian Sir David Dundas
himself been looking on, think that even he
would have admitted that he never saw anv
one stand so fercely upright as l did behind
mine, while the balls were rapping into il as if
fellow had been hammering nail on the op-
posite side, not to mention the number that