446 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



Herrick, Quetelet, Newton and others applied themselves to 

 the investigation, and inferred periodic returns in about thirty- 

 three years from a comparison of old records. The year 1866 

 was therefore awaited with great interest to see whether the 

 shower returned in all its former brilliancy. It did not dis- 

 appoint expectation. 



Heis was the leader of the more accurate school of ob- 

 servers. He saw the necessity of recording meteors according 

 to their definite paths amongst the stars. He accumulated 

 thousands of such observations. Schmidt at Bonn and 

 Athens imitated his example. Prof. Baden Powell in England 

 began systematically to collect descriptions of such fireballs 

 and meteors as were seen, and presented annual reports to 

 the British Association. Neumayer at Melbourne (1858-63) 

 also obtained observations, and many others at about this 

 period applied themselves to the same end. Amongst them 

 we may mention Prof. A. S. Herschel, Mr. R. P. Greg, Mr. 

 J. Glaisher, Lieut.-Col. Tupman, G. Zezioli, G. V. Schiaparelli 

 and F. Dinza in Italy, and A. C. Twining, Quetelet, and others 

 in America. It will be appropriate to give a summary of the 

 leading events in this field since the year of the rich shower 

 of Andromedes witnessed by Brandes and others in 1798. 

 Such a table may be of utility for reference, and interesting 

 as indicating the periods rendered particularly memorable by 

 the appearance of star showers or their associated comets, or 

 by the work of some distinguished labourer in this branch. 

 The list does not aim at completeness ; in fact, to have given 

 anything like an exhaustive precis of events would have required 

 considerable space. 



Only one really abundant swarm of Lyrids appears to have 

 been seen in modern times. That the Leonids did not return 

 in their old-time splendour in 1899 and 1900 was due to the 

 stream having been diverted from the earth by planetary 

 influence. 



1798. Dec. 6. Abundant display of Andromedes witnessed by 

 Brandes and others. 



1799. Nov. 11. Brilliant shower of Leonids seen by Humboldt 



and Bonpland. 

 1803. April 19. Abundant shower of Lyrids seen in America. 

 1826. March 26. Biela discovers a comet with an orbit similar 



to the Andromedes of November. 



