658 Proceedings. 



east-north-east. At this time what appeared to be the beginning of a 

 second arch formed above the original one. It formed with great rapidity 

 in the sonth-west, extending itself in an easterly direction for a short 

 distance, and then vanished. The moon rose at 9 p.m., but did not 

 appear to have much effect on the brilliancy of the display, until about 

 9.45 p.m., when the aurora was reduced to an arch of milky haze across 

 the southern sky. Shortly after 10 p.m. there was a second display of 

 streamers, which shot upwards as far as the zenith, where they dissipated 

 in the most brilliant rosy glow. During this last display the arch ap- 

 peared to become completely disintegrated, and at 10.30 p.m. scarcely a 

 trace of the aurora could be seen. In view of the connection which he 

 understood was generally supposed to exist between auroral displays and 

 sun-spots, he looked at the sun the following morning with a telescope of 

 moderate power, and noticed seven spots, two of which were evidently of 

 very large dimensions. 



Sir James Hector said the auroral arcs were always at right angles 

 to the magnetic meridian. This meridian, however, is always in motion, 

 vibrating from east to west, but the extent of vibration is much greater 

 during an auroral display, as he had observed during his observatory- 

 work in high latitudes in North America in 1857. In New Zealand the 

 auroral rays converge to N.N.E. of the zenith, and form a crown at 80° 

 altitude from the horizon. As a rule there is disturbance of telegraphic 

 communication coincident with such discharges, so that it must be a 

 terrestrial magnetic as well as an atmospheric electric phenomenon. 

 The height of the discharge has been variously related from as low 

 as house-tops to as high as 1,000 miles ; but from fifty to one hun- 

 dred miles is the result of the most reliable observations. With 

 regard to the connection between auroras and solar storms, the few 

 observations so far indicate that the influence is real, and that the 

 action is almost instantaneous, even exceeding the velocity of light. It 

 resembles a sympathetic action like tbe " Hertz waves " of radiant elec- 

 tricity traversing the ether. During the last twenty-five years, while he 

 had been in charge of the records, there had been sixty-three auroral dis- 

 plays, of which fifty- two were visible only in the south of New Zealand. 

 Of the eleven seen all over New Zealand, five were simultaneously re- 

 corded in Australia and at the Cape of Good Hope. In fourteen of these 

 years none were recorded in New Zealand. The maximum records were 

 twenty-one auroras in 1871 and sixteen in 1870. The other records vary 

 from one to three in each year, except in 1882, when two displays — one 

 in April and the other in November — each lasted over four days ; but 

 in this case some other cause may have been at work. During the same 

 period of observations, as far as available, the relative area of sun-spots 

 according to the best authorities has been, — 



so also was 1894. The probable recurrent sun-spot maximum period is 

 considered to be twenty-two years, which seems to be borne out by 

 general experience, so that this last interval of only ten years appears to 

 be exceptional. 



Mr. McLeod said we were greatly indebted to Sir James Hector for 

 bis valuable and interesting remarks, and especially for his explanation 

 of Hertz's experiments, and the conclusions he (Sir James Hector) had 

 drawn from them in connection with auroras. The telegraph system was 



