
cccpeeeigaag esi 
_the appearance. It was of this shape. 
A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 37 
a dull light. The following note by Dr. Giraud gives particulars of the re- 
sults of the first examination of its characters :— 
“‘« The stone is acted on by cold hydrochloric acid, with disengagement 
of sulphuretted hydrogen. Boiling, but not cold, nitric acid acts on it vio- 
lently, disengaging HS and NO,. The great part of the stone is silica: the 
metallic granules consist of iron in equal proportions, with nickel and chrome— 
in fact meteoric iron. The nickel of coursc is much obscured by the iron: 
the chromine was readily detected, for on fusing the stone with nitre, dissol- 
ving the fluid mass in distilled water, and then testing with acetate of lead, 
a fine yellow chromate of lead was obtained. On fusing the stone with nitre, 
chromate of potash was of course produced. I cannot detect any cobalt, 
which you know Stenmeyer found in the mixture of iron at the Cape of Good 
Hope. : 
No. 6.—Letter from E. J. Lowe, Esq. to Prof. Powell, enclosing one from 
Sir J. W. Herschel, &c., received July 11, 1849. 
“My dear Sir,—The following account of a meteor was sent me by Sir 
John Herschel; I accidentally omitted to forward the account of it to you 
with my former catalogue. I may remark that it was noticed at Bath, but 
am afraid by no one capable of accurately describing it ; perhaps the insertion 
in the British Association Catalogue may be a means of obtaining further in- 
formation of this fine meteor. “ Yours ever truly, 
“KJ. Lowe.” 
“ «My dear Sir,—The parents of a young person residing in our family 
(of the name of Atkins) were aroused on the night of March 8th, by a noise, 
which induced Mr. A. to get up. At four a.m. he was struck with a great 
light ; it emanated from a meteor larger than the moon which shot across 
above Windsor Castle as seen from Slough (two miles), z.e. looking nearly 
southwards. I can get no correct notice of the altitude above the horizon, 
which is a pity, as it seems to have been a first-rate one, and its course being 
horizontal and from west to east, must have been seen on the French coast, 
and probably by seafaring people (who watch nightly) in the Channel. I en- 
close a note of explanation from Mrs. A. to her daughter ; perhaps you may 
have some corresponding observations, in which case it will be worth while to 
question further about the apparent altitude as seen from Slough. 
“ «Your very faithful Servant, 
“<¢J, F. W. HerscHen.” * 
Extract from a letter received by Sir John Herschel on the meteor, from 
Mrs. Atkins. j 
“ ¢On this morning (March 8, 1848), four a.m., a large body of light in 
the shape of a kite, more brilliant and larger than the moon, passed across 
from west to east ; it moved gently ; indeed your father had time to wake me, 
and I to get up to the window before it disappeared ; the colour was a strong 
blaze of fire ; it shot from the clouds and disappeared in the same. It travelled 
from the west of the Castle to the extremity of Datchet. 
The stars were shining at the time. The noise that awoke 
Mr. Atkins, had not, in his opinion, anything to do with 
999 

No. 7.—Extract from a letter dated Pisa, Tuscany, Sept. 9th, 1848. 
.... Last evening, Sept. 8th, about ten minutes before seven, I observed 
from my window, facing due south, a luminous ball of fire, about the size of 
an orange, glide gently past from N.W. to S.E. The moon was up; it passed 
