134 Fleet St., London - TGB is sorry he did not mention to WW that Mr Norris had a wife. He does not think Norris would be willing to quit Bristol for Lowestoft for the salary WW offers. Norris's qualifications are perfectly adequate to pursue the work WW requires. TGB has advised him on his 'methods of tide discussion, which I had pursued, under your superintendence' [Bunt collected most of the tide observations along the south-west coast for WW].
Miscellaneous notes for declination corrections; parallax and declination for London (taken from Lubbock's diagram, Phil. Trans, Pt. 2, 1836); average form of curve on tide machine; 1 years observations by machine (1837-1838).
Thomas Bunt should be paid by Bristol Council £100 per annum for his work on tides.
Written from Small St. Court, Bristol.
Flamsteed House, Greenwich - Some time ago GA asked for WW's opinion about republishing his tracts [see GA to WW, 10 October 1839]. GA then wrote to Deighton [book publisher] - 'they say that the book sold very slowly and they do not like to publish again on their own risk; most certainly I shall not do on mine'. Has WW any suggestions on making it 'readable' or know of any young man who might take up the thing? - 'a treatise on Optics ought to exist in the world'. GA has not done much work on tides recently. The gale of wind of January 2 and the following morning 'produced a most marvellous effect on the succeeding tide in the Thames. He has received Bunt's [Thomas G. Bunt] Bristol observations taken from the self registering tide gages: 'It is a great pity that he does not go to low water; and also that there is not an infinity of tide gages and gages symmetrically distributed over the coasts and seas'. They should try and get the observations from Brest. Can WW get the readings from the wind mometers in Cambridge from January 1 to January 4. GA wants to find the course of the wind in connexion with the tide.
JH will be happy to see Mr. Bunt's [Thomas G. Bunt - based in Bristol and took most of WW's tide observations along the South-West coast] Planetarium. Could WW bring it to his new home in Hawkhurst, Kent? JH is getting no end of strange results from his photographic research: 'I have now got papers which when half darkened darken more at the red end of the spectrum and whiten at the violet - others which darken far beyond the visible end - others which darken at the first impression of the light and then whiten - some which whiten at the two ends of the spectrum and darken in the inside etc'.
Bristol - LC on the subject of 'public compensation' for Thomas G. Bunt [for making and analysing tide observations for WW in the South West region]: the matter will be raised at a special meeting of the council of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr Bunt should write an application and WW a supporting letter.
Bunt examined the Register of the Tide machine along the Avon and at Cumberland Basin. The latter is 'sufficiently correct' to deduce the empirical laws of the tides at the port of Bristol to WW's specifications. Bunt hopes 'to calculate and publish a Tide-Table for the ensuing year'. He gives a description of how he constructed diagrams of the moon's transit and parallax which he uses to produce tables for declination and parallax to help predict times of high water. He has not yet taken into account solar declination and parallax.
Letter of 22 Nov. 1837 encloses a letter from James Green dated 14 Nov. 1837 (item 109). Letter of February 1839 includes the visiting card of Baron de Sternberg (item 127). Letter of 17 Aug. 1841 encloses a chart (item 144).