50 REPORT — 1851. 



Its form was rounded on the advancing side. It left a clear thread of light 

 as bright as a Hydrae along its whole course, which lasted three to four mi- 

 nutes with undiminished brilliancy, and then slowly faded away. It moved 

 from Delphinus to Ursa Major. Lieut. Hardy thinks it was only 600 yards 

 above our earth. " This is a mistake, for my brother saw it in London, but 

 has not unpacked his account since his return." — E. J. L. 



No. 29. — Letter from Dr. Buist, inclosing extracts from the 'Bombay 

 Times.' 



" Bombay, 27th May, 1851. 

 " Dear Sir, — I enclose you further extracts on the subject of the meteoric 

 shower of the 20th April, seen all over India. You have now received ac- 

 counts from the following places : — 



Lat. Long. 



Bombay 18° 58' 72° 38' 



Poena 18° 30' 74° 02' 



Kolapore 15° 37' 73° 38' 



Cawnpore 26° 30' 80° 13' 



The first and last of these places are above 1000 miles apart. I do not re- 

 member ever before to have seen notices of displays of this sort visible over 

 so large an expanse of country. We must see and get soldiers on duty to 

 make observations ; a word from the War Office would effect all that is 

 wanted at once. The Geographical Society here will always be delighted to 

 play the part either of supervisors of observations, or receptacles for contri- 

 butions, or to become the handmaid of science in any way, however humble. 



" I ever am your obedient servant, 

 " Professor Baden Powell, Oxford." " Geo, Buist." 



" We have been favoured with the following from a correspondent, who 

 dates Cawnpore, 5th May, in reference to the meteoric showers seen from 

 Mazagon and Kolapore on the 19th April. The phaenomena agree so closely 

 in all respects save date, that we should greatly wish our two previous in- 

 formants to refer to their notes, and refresh their memories. We should like 

 to make quite sure of the fact, as to whether meteoric showers, so remark- 

 able as those referred to, were seen on two successive nights at nearly the 

 same hour; or whether they Avere seen on the same night at Bombay, 

 lat. 18° 56', long. 72° 57'; at Kolapore and at Cawnpore, lat. 26° 30', 

 long. 80° 13', the two extreme points being, as the crow flies, about 700 

 miles from each other. Our Cawnpore friend is far too exact and methodi- 

 cal, and attaches too much weight to such things to be in error. This, with 

 the other notes of meteors and hail-storms that have been forwarded to us, as 

 well as the valuable paper on the meteorology of Futtegurh, just received, 

 will be forwarded to the British Association. An account of them will, we 

 doubt not, be in due time found in the reports of the July number of the 

 ' Athenajum,' as well as in the extended Reports of the Association : — ' Your 

 paper of the 24th ultimo came in this morning. I have intended writing 

 you several days past, but I have been stirred up by your notice of the me- 

 teors at Mazagon, your correspondent states, the preceding Saturday. We 

 had here the precise similar beautiful phrenomenon, time much the same, but 

 your correspondent and myself differ by twenty-four hours, as I have noted 

 them in my diary on Sunday evening, as follows : — This evening from eight 

 to ten P.M. constant meteors flying across, chiefly from N. towards S., often 

 three or four at a time. The largest I did not see. 1 had my face towards 

 N., facing a white building, when suddenly the whole was as bright as you 

 see in a vivid flash of sheet lightning. Ere I could turn round it was out of 



