Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-09-17

aroused by tie rareness OF the books
called for, and one day inquired of
Mr.. Gardner what be was doing with
such works, adding, You buy books
that nobody else eve buys or asks
for"
Mr.. Gardner explained the nature
of the work upon which he was en-
gagged, which greatly interested the
dealer, who expressed a desire to see
it when it was done
When it was finally completed ne
carried it into the dealer, who advised
him TO take it over to Cambridge aud
show it to Prof. Pierce. He took it
over 10 Cambridge, but, finding the
professor absent, showed it to Lieut..
Davis. The latter examined the work
carefully and manifested his surprise
that an uneducated man. as he ex.
pressed it, could have performed such
a work, supplementing mis- remarks
with the declaration that there were
not six men ia the United States who
could have done it,"
This work, with the transit of Venus
across the suns disc for 1874, and the
lunar ecliPses from 1874 10 1900. which
we're computed by Mr. Gardner, were
making a volume of $50 qusrto pages,
and presented to the bingham public
library. The work was unfortunately
destroyed by the fire which burned the
library some years ago. Mr.. Gardner
was busily engaged upon the transit of
Venus for 1882 when this dire calamity
overlook his work of years. AS the tran.
sit of 1874 was still fresh in his mind.
he dropped the work upon which he
was engaged, and commenced afresh
the laborof replacing the lost work. or
that Dart of it relating to the transit
of 1874.
This work occupied a year, evenings
being the leisure time which Mr..
Gsrdner could spend upon it. This
work is now in Mr. Gardner's posses
sion and contains 413 quarto pages OF
fine ruled, six lines to the inch. 1t
gives the time of the beginning and
ending of the train of the transit in
Fifty three places on the earth. After
finishing the copy he went to work
upon the transit of 1882 again. This
he finished and hss in his possession.
1t contains 253 places on the earth
where the taansit is visible, and gives
the beginning and ending in each
instance.
Among the other more remarkable
works performed by Mr.. Gardner, are
the deposition of Mars with the Sun
in the Nineteenth Century, which
contains forty pages of neatly written
figures, and the computation from
Newcomb's tables for finding the
"Heliocentrics Co ordinates of Nep.
tune from Jan. 1, 1888 TO Jan. 28.
1900" This latter work was COM
menced about a year ago. and will
probably be completed this winter,
Mr.. Gardner has also for his own
qualification worked out various prob
lens, among them the following:
"Sappose man to commence taxing
q pill on the first day of January,
and continue to take doubling the
dose each day until the end of the
year, and the next year decrease the
dose IN the same proportion, how
many pills would he take in the two
years, and what would be the size Of a
cubical box that would hold themY"
The answer to the number taken o n
tains III places of figures, the cubic
miles of pills "a places of figures the
size of the box 80 places of figures,
and the stock OF pulls Is 26 places of
figures larger than the sun. All of
Mr.. Gardeners work. it must be re-
membered, was done during the even
ing and such leasure time as he had
found from his daily labor in the box
mill. He Is the possessor of seven
volumes of Prof. M. j. lie V%errrer's
works. Of Paris, but as they are all in
with which language he is
unacquainted, he was obliged to buy
French dictionary to assist him in
translation. Mr.. Gardner formed
tue acquaintance of Prof. S. New
comb, the government astronomer,
at Washington, and that gentleman
received considerable mathematical
work to do. This acquaintance.
at FIRST was very pleasant and
soon ripened into a firm friendship.
Mr.. Gardner has in his library sew
eral valuable works which wee pre-
sented to him by the author, Prof.
among them tables "f the
Eclipses from B. @. 700 to A. d $780,"
In Investigation OF the Orbit Uranus"
investigation of The Orbit of Nep-
Tables OF Venus" He also
possesses a volume of The Memoirs
Of Nathaniel Bowditch," which was
presented to him by his friend, Mr..
n. L. Bowditch.
Mr.. Gardner has been sealer of
weights and measures for the tawn
twelve years, and one of the board of
assessors for eight years.