ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 299 



hours and declination 25 degrees north. Although the number 

 seen was not as great, yet the maximum and the frequency were 

 nearly equal to the shower observed in England. 



Washington, Nov. 14. A report from the Superintendent of the 

 Washington Observatory to the Secretary of the Navy says the 

 display of meteors this morning was the most brilliant seen in 

 this country since 1833. Very few were seen until 1 o'clock. 

 125 meteor tracks were marked down before 6.30 A. M., when the 

 meteors flew so thick that identification became hopeless and 

 simple counting was resorted to. 1,000 were counted in 21 min- 

 utes previous to 4.35 A. M. Many were remarkable for their bril- 

 liancy and for a brilliant train, which usually vanished in a few 

 seconds, but in one or two cases lasted several minutes. The 

 most brillant and thickest display came from the direction of Leo, 

 which is about 60 degrees above the horizon. The course of the 

 meteors was principally north and east, though there were scat- 

 tering ones from other directions. 



Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, Nov. 14. 13 brilliant meteors 

 were seen during the night, mostly near the Great Bear. 



Wilmington, Del., Nov. 14. The meteoric display from 2.30 to 

 4 A. M. was very fine ; 500 were counted in 20 minutes after 4 

 o'clock, and it is estimated that there were altogether between 

 2,000 and 3,000. 



New York, Nov. 14. At the Central Park Observatory 334 me- 

 teors were observed; the first at 7.35 P. M., and the last at 5.38 

 A. M. 54 left luminous trains behind them, and many were splen- 

 did. With few exceptions, all took a northerly course. 



Richmond, J., Nov. 14. Meteors fell at the rate of 1,500 per 

 .hour this morning at 4 o'clock. 



Charleston, S. ., Nov. 14. The meteoric display this morning 

 was very brilliant, lasting several hours. 



ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF HEAT OVER THE EARTH. 



The following are extracts from a paper by Pliny E. Chase, in 

 the July number of the " American Journal of Science " : 



The principal elements of general thermometric variation are : 

 1. The heat imparted by the sun. 2. Terrestrial absorption and 

 radiation. 3. Atmospheric currents. Of these three agencies the 

 first is, in one sense at least, the chief, since it is the one on which 

 the others depend ; the second is mainly instrumental in modify- 

 ing the other two, and especially in retarding the daily and yearly 

 changes ; the third is a subject of hourly experience, and its me- 

 teorological importance is now generally recognized. 



The amount of heat which is received directly from the sun evi- 

 dently varies as the cosine of the zenith distance, or the sine of 

 the sun's altitude. In the daily distribution of temperature this 

 is the most important element. Absorption and radiation proceed 

 at nearly uniform rates; therefore, it may be assumed that their 

 effects are approximately proportional to the time during which 

 they operate. The average general variation which is due to the 

 influence of the winds is a difficult point to determine; but the 



