A comparison of the work of the several artists who have set their hand to the draughting of figures for the numerous constellations is not without interest. Attention may here be directed in passing to the decidedly oriental cast of these figures as they appear on Arabic globes.[206] It is to be regretted that in the present very practical or scientific day the star map, wanting the figures of the constellations or giving them in but the faintest outline, has come to supplant the artistic and not unscientific creations of earlier years. The earliest references we have to globes, that is, to solid balls or spheres, make mention of their mountings, that is, to their encasing circles and their bases. The simplest mounting consisted of but a meridian and a horizon circle with probably a simple supporting base. The earliest spheres were doubtless made to revolve just as the globes of today, around their polar axes which turn within sockets firmly attached to the meridian circle. This meridian circle of brass or wood was usually graduated from one to ninety degrees, that is, from the equator to the poles, and being adjustable relative to the horizon circle, a globe could be set with a polar elevation for any desired latitude. Those who have had occasion to refer to the construction and the uses of the globe more or less in detail, make mention of what they call its threefold position. In the first of these positions either pole may be at the vertical point, the equator and the horizon being parallel or coinciding. This they termed a parallel sphere. In the second position the equator and the horizon circle are set at right angles. This they called a right sphere. In the third position, which was called an oblique sphere, the pole could be set at any elevation from zero to ninety degrees, counting from the horizon circle. In illustration of this third position it may be said that for the latitude of New York City, the north pole of the globe should be elevated 40 degrees 48 minutes above this circle.