Notices respecting New Books. 221 



form. This last phaenoraenon was observed in another instance 

 about twenty years since. Even the luminous arc of the 28th of 

 September 1828 might, our author thinks, be a still more dilatory 

 tail of a meteor that had shot across our hemisphere just before 

 sunset, and for that reason was not perceived. In July 1799 

 Dr. Forster's father saw a meteor cross the sky from south to 

 north, then return southward, and finally bend to the north-west. 

 Another peculiarity is that of rising in the sky instead of descending, 

 which has been reported as occurring sometimes near the equator, 

 where they are very numerous. And Dr. Forster himself saw a 

 whitish globe stationary for two seconds, and then turn a fine red. 



A shower of small meteors is recorded to have occurred on the 25th 

 of April 1095 ; and Dr. Forster saw an approximation to this on a 

 bright winter night in 1832, inasmuch as the whole firmament was 

 in a glow from an immense number of very fine luminous tails nearly 

 parallel from E.N.E. to W.S.W. They might deserve the name 

 rather of streaks, no heads being visible. The duration of each might 

 not exceed a second, but the phaenomenon altogether lasted a quarter 

 of an hour and then ceased suddenly. And in November 1830 he 

 saw a similar multiplicity of little streaks, but crossed by others at 

 right angles. Another peculiarity was described by a clergyman 

 near Epping, that of seeing a meteor, after descending to the earth, 

 undergo a sort of reverberation by rising in an oblique direction, 

 and then break into sparks. 



Among the numerous authors who have treated of this subject, 

 perhaps M. Quetelet's catalogue is the most complete, with the ex- 

 ception of his omitting the interesting meteor of 1783. M. Arago 

 and M. Biot have also treated the subject ably. 



A copious journal of meteors has been kept in Dr. Forster's family 

 from 1767, but no periodicity was suspected till the 10th of August 

 1811 ; though then, on looking back through the journal, it was per- 

 ceived that there had been a great preponderance in the Novembers 

 ever since 1799, and in the Augusts from 1779. When employed a 

 few years after to construct perennial calendars. Dr. Forster indicated 

 a number of meteors as a phsenomenon to be expected on the 10th of 

 August. 



This became confirmed in 1831 by other observers, and they added 

 the second period of the 13th of November. M. Queteletnow adds 

 April and December, while others suggest January, May, June and 

 July. He thinks their usual height in the atmosphere is from six- 

 teen to twenty leagues or more, though they are occasionally seen 

 slanting very near the ground. The most numerous sort, distin- 

 guished by the name of etoiles filantes, may revolve in trajectories 

 by swarms, forming a belt round the sun, which we have occasionally 

 to traverse. Then, owing to the earth's motion, these luminous 

 corpuscles would naturally, as they have been observed to do, appear 

 to " have their point of divergence towards /3 Camelop. in August, 

 and towards v Leonis in November, agreeing with our annual mo- 

 tion in the ecliptic." According to the known laws of optics, the 

 swarm would seem to separate in radii as we neared them, and. 



