MD3PAD 295-297

[Toby G Levy]

        Franklin is excited at the prospect of a thunderstorm and
invites all those in attendance at his leyden jar show to accompany him
outdoors to try and "capture" a thunderbolt with his scythe. Franklin
specifically invites Mason to come along, but Mason demurs.

        Chapter 30 begins on page 296 with Mason and Dixon beginning
their task.  A group of dignitary and lookers-on go to Cedar Street to
declare the north wall of a certain house as the southernmost point of
Philadelphia.  Exactly fifteen miles south of this point Mason and Dixon
will begin their line.

        Some people question the choice of the north wall, but the
reason is that the south wall is on private property.  Other people
complain that the city is still growing, and why don't they wait a bit.

        The Sector is carried in a padded wagon.  Here's a description
of the instrument, provided by Hyperarts:

"A sector, more fully called a zenith sector, is a telescope meant to
view only the zenith (i.e., the point in the sky straight above you). To
do this, the telescope is part of a larger contraption, complete with
built-in plumb line to maintain verticality and and a circular sector
with micrometer at the bottom for precise measurements of angle, and
some cross hairs--usually several--so that one can time when key stars
cross the zenith itself. The sector that Bird made for Mason and Dixon
was lost in a fire sometime in the late 19th century."

        Mason and Dixon will use it initially to determine accurately
the path south.

        A Carpenter named Ben Loxley is building the observatory.

        One of the Commissioners, Mr. Chew explains to the workers and
the crowd that Mason and Dixon will use the Sector to find the exact
latitude of each point so they may keep the line exactly straight.

        Dixon asks the carpenters if they will be able to fit the big
Sector through the door of the observatory.

Toby