On the declivity of Ararat, which with Caucasus may be said to
lie in the center of gravity of the old continent formed by Europe, Asia,
and Africa, the very exact pendulum experiments of Fedorow give indications,
not of subterranean cavities, but of dense volcanic masses. (Parrot, 'Reise
zum Ararat', bd. ii., s. 143.) In the geodesic operations of Carlini and
Plana, in Lombardy, differences ranging from 20" to 47".8 have been found
between direct observations of latitude and the results of these operations.
(See the instances of Andrate and Mondovi, and those of Milan and Padua, in
the 'Operations Geodes. et Astron. pour la Mesure d'un Arc du Parallele
Moyen', t. ii., p. 347; 'Effemeridi Astron. di Milano', 1842, p. 57.) The
latitude of Milan, deduced from that of Berne, according to the , is
45??degrees 27' 52", while, according to direct astronomical observations,
it is 45 degrees 27' 35". As the perturbations extend in the plain of
Lombardy to Parma, which is far south of the Po (Plana, 'Operat. Geod.', t.
ii., p. 847), it is probable that there are deflecting causes 'concealed
beneath the soil of the plain itself'. Struve has made similar experiments
[with corresponding results] in the most level parts of eastern Europe.
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