Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 77 



which was like to the tail of a vast comet. I cannot say when it began, 

 but I noticed it very strong and distinct on going out of doors ex- 

 actly at 8 o'clock from Gardiner's Row ; it then appeared to be alto- 

 gether S. of the zenith. It appeared to begin about 15° S.E. of the 

 Pleiades, and passing them at about 10° of distance, and thence ex- 

 tending about 90° N.W. From our zenith its diffused western end 

 may have been from 30° to 40°. At this place there was a cirro- 

 stratus cloud, which appeared towards the close of the aurora, about 

 12 minutes after 8, also to be illuminated. This aurora was appa- 

 rently narrower at its eastern termination than its west ; it was also 

 arched ; it had a sensible motion of about 1° per minute S. At 5 

 minutes past 8 its edges presented that peculiar blackness which has 

 been noticed by different persons in the Canadian aurora, supposed 

 to arise from the formation of sensible vapour. This aurora was of 

 that kind which Capt. Back and Mr. Farquharson, and others, have 

 noticed as arising from the tops of mountains in masses of cloud. If 

 some of your correspondents in the south of the city would commu- 

 nicate their observations, we might, perhaps, be able to trace the lo- 

 cality of its eastern terminus, and determine its height. Recent ob- 

 servations lead us to trace the course of aurorae to previous and di- 

 stant thunder storms. There were appearances of a thunder storm 

 towards the N.W. yesterday in the afternoon, and at 20 minutes to 5 

 1 distinctly perceived the reflection of a flash of lightning when 

 walking in Eccles street. — Oct. 12. E.G. {Saunders's Netos- Letter, 

 Thursday, Oct. 13,1836. 



3. Aurora of October 11 , as observed at Leominster. 

 To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Journal. 



I take leave to send you the following notice of a splendid 

 and (as it appeared to me) a highly interesting electrical phaeno- 

 menon, seen here last Tuesday night, the 1 1 th of October, about a 

 quarter before nine j thinking, as it was visible only for a few mi- 

 nutes, you might, perhaps, consider it worth inserting in your Jour- 

 nal. The sky was clear at the time, except on the eastern and 

 western horizon, where it was obscured by clouds to the height of 

 about 40°. A broad stream of light, of a pale yellow colour, stretched 

 across the heavens, passing through the zenith, connecting, like an 

 immense bridge, the banks of clouds in the east and west. It first 

 appeared as a band of light streaming in a direct line from the masses 

 of clouds in the west ; it quickly assumed a waving appearance, form- 

 ing a variety of graceful curves through nearly the whole extent ; this 

 lasted about ten minutes, when it became fainter at the eastern end, 

 and gradually faded away towards the west. In a hw minutes more 

 it disappeared altogether. — Wm.Gilks. 



Leominster, Oct. 1 3. 1 836. 



PROCESS OF MAKING CRYSTALLIZED SUGAR FROM TODDY, OR 

 THE JUICE OF THE COCOA-NUT PALM, ON THE ISLAND OF 

 CEYLON. 



The following notice on this subject was communicated by Lieut.- 



