Amongst the poetical admirers of Mr. Ferguson, we may place the late Mr. Capel Loft, who in his Eudosia, or a Poem on the Universe, has the following elegant allusion to the early labours of our Author: "Nor shall thy guidance not conduct our feet, O honour'd Shepherd of our later days! Through all the splendid labyrinths of Heaven; Thy apt expression." THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCURATE LIST OF Description of a new Orrery. Lond. 1745, 4to. Dissertation on the Phænomena of the Harvest Moon; also, The Description and Use of a new four-wheeled Orrery; and an Essay upon the Moon's turning round her own axis. Lond. 1747. 8vo. A brief Description of the Solar System; to which is subjoined, an Astronomical Account of the year of our Saviour's Crucifixion. Lond. 1754, 8vo. An idea of the Material Universe, deduced from a Survey of the Solar System. Lond. 1754. 8vo. 1s. Astronomy explained, upon Sir Isaac Newton's Principles, and made easy to those who have not studied Mathematics. Lond. 1756, 1757, 4to. 15s. The same; to which is added, A plain Method of finding the distances of all the Planets from the Sun, by the transit of Venus over the Sun's disk. Lond. 1764, 4to. 5th edit. 1772. A new edit. by Dr. Brewster. 1811, 2 vols. 8vo. Lectures on Select Subject in Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, and Optics; with the art of Dialing, and the use of the Globes, and the Calculation of the mean times of new and full Moons and Eclipses. Lond. 1760, 8vo. 1764. 4to. Supplement to Mr. Ferguson's book of Lectures on Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, and Optics; containing 13 copper-plates, with Descriptions of the Machinery which he has added to his Apparatus since that book was published. Lond. 1767, 4to. 4s. 4th edit. 1772. 1790, 8vo. 7s. 6d. Of this work a new edition was published, Edin. 1805, 2 vols. 8vo. A plain Method of determining the Parallax of Venus, by her Transit over the Sun; and from them, by Analogy, the Parallax and distance of the Sun, and of all the rest of the Planets. Lond. 1761, 4to. 2s. 6d. A Letter to Mr. John Kennedy, in answer to his Examination of Mr. Ferguson's remarks (inserted in the Critical Review for May, 1763,) upon Mr. Kennedy's System of Astronomical Chronology. Lond. 1763, 8vo. Astronomical Tables, and Precepts, for calculating the true Times of new and full Moons &c. Lond. 1763, 8vo. 1s. 6d. Tables and Tracts relative to several Arts and Sciences. Lond. 1767, 8vo. 5s. An Easy Introduction to Astronomy, for young Gentlemen and Ladies. Lond. 1768, 8vo. 5s. 6d. 2d. edit. Lond. 1769, 8vo. 6s. Introduction to Electricity, &c. Illustrated with copper plates. Lond. 1770. 8vo. 4s. 2d edit. 1775, 1790. Select Mechanical Exercises, shewing how to construct different Clocks, Orreries, and Sun-dials, on plain and easy Principles. Illustrated with plates; to which is prefixed, a short Account of the Author, written by himself. Lond. 1773, 8vo. 5s. The Art of Drawing in Perspective, made easy to those who have no previous knowledge of Mathematics. Plates. Lond. 1775, 8vo. 3s. 6d. The Phenomena of Venus, represented in an Orrery. Phil. Trans Abr. ix. 226. 1746. An improvement of the Celestial Globe. Ib. 351. 1747. Description of a piece of Mechanism contrived by him, for exhibiting the Time, Duration, and Quantity of Solar Eclipses, in all Places of the Earth. Ib. x. 456. 1749. Mr. Ferguson calls this machine an Eclipsareon. A Delineation of the Transit of Venus, expected in the year 1769. Ib. xi. 685. 1763. Of a remarkable Fish taken in King's Road, Bristol. Ib. 717. 1763. The Long Angler of Pennant, or Sophius Conubicus of Shaw. On the Eclipse of the Sun, April 1, 1764. Ib. xii. 5. 1763. Description of a new Crane which has four different powers. Ib. 86. 1764. Observations made at Liverpool of the Lunar and Solar Eclipses. Ib. 113. 1764. Description of a new Hygrometer. Ib. 151. The quantity of time in any number of Lunations, &c. &c &c. Ib. 197. 1765. A new Method of constructing Sun-dials, for any given Latitude, without the assistance of Dialing Scales, or Logarithmic Calculations. Ib. 454. 1767. ON SELECT SUBJECTS. LECTURE I. OF MATTER AND ITS PROPERTIES. AS the design of the first part of this course is to ex- LECT. plain and demonstrate those laws by which the material universe is governed, regulated, and continued; and by which the various appearances in nature are accounted for; it is necessary to begin with explaining the properties of matter. what. By the word matter is here meant every thing that Matter, has length, breadth, and thickness, and resists the touch. The inherent properties of matter are solidity, in- Its properactivity, mobility, and divisibility. ties. The solidity of matter arises from its having length, Solidity breadth, thickness; and hence it is that all bodies are comprehended under some shape or other, and that each particular body hinders all others from occupying the same part of space which it possesseth. Thus, if a piece of wood or metal be squeezed ever so hard between two plates, they cannot be brought into contact. And even water or air has this property; for if a small quantity of it be fixed between any other bodies, they cannot be brought to touch one another.' Note 1. By solidity or impenetrability in common language, is understood the property of not being easily separated into parts,-a B |