CHAP. XIX. The variation in the interior of large
Continents.

ost of the great seas have great variations; in some parts, however, they have none, but the true directions are toward the pole. On continents, also, the magnetick needle often deviates from the meridian, as on the edge of the land and near the borders; but it is generally accustomed to deviate by a somewhat small arc. In the middle, however, of great regions there are no variations. Hence in the middle lands of Upper Europe, in the interior of Asia, and in the heart of Africa, of Peru, and in the regions of North or Mexican America, the versorium rests in the meridian.