previous version was replaced with a shadow vane placed on a transom. This transom could be moved along a graduated scale to indicate the angle of the shadow above the staff. Below the staff, a 30° arc was added. The horizon, seen through the horizon vane on the left, is aligned with the shadow. The sighting vane on the arc is moved until it aligns with the view of the horizon. The angle measured is the sum of the angle indicated by the position of the transom and the angle measured on the scale on the arc. The instrument that is now identified with Davis is shown in Figure 3. This form evolved by the mid-17th century. The quadrant arc has been split into two parts. The smaller radius arc, with a span of 60°, was mounted above the staff. The longer radius arc, with a span of 30° was mounted below. Both arcs have a common centre. At the common centre, a slotted horizon vane was mounted (B). A moveable shadow vane was placed on the upper arc so that its shadow was cast on the horizon vane. A moveable sight vane was mounted on the lower arc (C). It is easier for a person to place a vane at a specific location than to read the arc at an arbitrary position. This is due to Vernier acuity, the ability of a person to align two line segments accurately. Thus an arc with a small radius, marked with relatively few graduations, can be used to place the shadow vane accurately at a specific angle. On the other hand, moving the sight vane to the location where the line to the horizon meets the shadow requires a large arc. This is because the position may be at a fraction of a degree and a large arc allows one to read smaller graduations with greater accuracy. The large arc of the instrument, in later years, was marked with transversals to allow the arc to be read to greater accuracy than the main graduations allow. Thus Davis was able to optimize the construction of the quadrant to have both a small and a large arc, allowing the effective accuracy of a single arc quadrant of large radius without making the entire instrument so large. This form of the instrument became synonymous with the backstaff. It was one of the most widely used