2<)8 SHOOTING-STARS. 



VIII. 



On the connection letween Shooting- Stars and large Meleors,a>d 

 proceeding both from terrestrial and saiellitula, in njoindr 

 to Mr. G. J. Singer. By Mr. John Farey, Sen. 



To William Nicholson, Esq, 



snt, 



Phenomena TT) EING in the North of Scotland at the time that your 



stars°and u"ie **^ September number appeared, and not having leisure and 



means of opportunity since to consult the same until now, I should not 



Siem^&c* otherwise have delayed so long to reply to your correspondent 



Mr. G. J. Singer, were it only to repel an insinuation with 



which he concludes, viz. that I had in my 2nd letter to you on 



shooting stars, exulted in your valuable correspondent, Mr. 



Forster, having been deterred, or in his discontinuing to give 



his 'f accurate observations" of meteorological phenomena. 



Accurate and sufficient observations on the phenomena of 

 nature I am ever desirous of seeing multiplied as much as 

 possiblej not so I confess, those that are so loosely or incompletely 

 made or recorded, as to lead only to 'the support of what I con- 

 ceive to be a false hypothesis. 



I have elsewhere and repeatedly recommended the multiply- 

 ing of observations on shooting-stars and meteors, of a nature 

 which does not seem to have occurred to Mr. S. viz. by two or 

 more observers, at several miles distant from each other, each 

 having a well-regulated watch, and a person stationed to read 

 off, and record the observations made, in or near to some con- 

 stellation previously fixed on by the observers, during a certain 

 time each night, through a long period, the place, direction, and 

 length of course, being recorded by each, with reference to a 

 good planisphere of the part of the heavens fixed on, with 

 which each observer is ; furnished ; the comparative velocity, 

 brightness, interrupting clouds, haziness, light of the moon, 

 &c. &rc. being recorded by each observer. 



From a pretty complete series of observations thus conducted, 

 in conjunction wirh my able friend Mr. Benjamin Bevan, now 

 the engineer to the Grand Junction and other canals, and recorded 

 during an hour at least,and oftener twoor three on my part, resumed 



in 



