Scientific Intelligence. — Meteorology. 169 



15. On Kirkwood's Morticing" Machine. 



16. On Bell's Method of raising and lowering a Slide-Rest. 



17. On Whitelaw's additions to the Turning Lathe in slow 

 turning. 



18. Professor Forhes pointed out to the Society the prohably 

 extreme practical importance of a most extraordinary fact in op- 

 tics communicated lately to the Institute by M. Cauchy. He was 

 led to anticipate by theory, and verified it experimentally, that 

 near the limit of total reflection in a prism refraction takes place, 

 with a vast increase of intensity of the incident ray of light. If this 

 be confirmed (and the proof is easy, though Mr F. has not had leisure 

 to put it to the test), the most astonishing results, the Vice-Presi- 

 dent pointed out, would ensue ; since light, however trifling, may 

 be magnified indefinitely. 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



METEOROLOGY. 



1. Shower of Falling Stars in Russia., on the night between 

 the \9.th and ISth November 1832. — The following extract of a 

 letter from Monsieur le Comte de Suchteln to Monsieur Feo- 

 dorou, was communicated to the "Royal Academy of Sciences" at 

 Paris, in which mention is made of numerous meteors which were 

 seen in the neighbourhood of Orenburg, in the night between the 

 12th and 13th November 1832. " In the night between the 12th 

 and 13th November 1832, between three and four o'clock in the 

 morning, the wealher being calm and serene, and the thermo- 

 meter being at 55° of Fahr., the heavens appeared to be be- 

 spangled by a great number of meteors, which described a great 

 arch in the direction of from north-cast to south-west. They 

 burst like rockets,into innumerable small stars, without producing 

 the slightest noise, and left in the sky, what was long of disap- 

 pearing, a luminous band, having all the various colours of the 

 rainbow. The light of the moon, which was then in her last 

 quarter, obscured this appearance. It sometimes seemed as 

 if the heavens were cleft asunder, and in the opening, there 

 appeared long brilliant bands of a white colour. At other limes 

 flashes of lightning rapidly traversed the vault of heaven, 

 eclipsing the light of the stars, and causing these long luminous 

 bands of varied colours to appear. These phenomena continued 

 to succeed each other without occasioning the slightest percep- 



