Tore is good reason to believe that the Chinese originated the application of the magnetic needle to navigation at zea, It is not, however, a fully recognised fact in Western treatises on the progress of scientific discovery. In Harper's Monthly of October, 1896, there is an article, one of the series on "Great American Industries." This one is upon "Electricity" and it mentions tha claim made for the ancient Chiness that they knew the use of the compass. They had south-pointing chariots on which a human figure, perhaps moved by a magnet, kept its arm pointed always to the south, The writer goes on to say that the first certain mention of the use of the compass at, sea la in the thirteenth century, although in the twelfth century the English move Neckham described the uso of a floated magnet by a ship. Now it is a remarkable fact that the first description of a compass as used at-sea in any Chinese book is that of a floating one. The Chinese had the magnetic needle for many centuries before they applied it to navigation; they had another use for it. It was employed by the professors of féngshui, or the wind and water superstition. These professionals carried s small floating needle arranged in a small box round which were circles of bouts, degrees, the cardinal points, the months, and the eight trigrams of Fubi, This is the geomancer's compass which came into use at atest in the Tang dynasty, A.D. 600 to A.D. 900. In the centre is a small round Jake for water on which the needle la pivoted. The land compass in this form came into common use in Chins several centuries before the Englishmonk Neckham said anything on the subject. Then we are told that Peter Peregrinus in the 13th century made pivoted compass and marked on the circle the lubber's point, and the scale which in
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.