354 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [Vor. VI. 
Referring only to the two instances of magnetic storms and sun-spots 
alluded to at the beginning of this paper, it is on record that on Sep- 
tember 9th, last year, the finest aurora occurred which had been seen 
here for a long while ; it was seen all over Europe, and was said to be 
truly magnificent. In the Transactions of the Astronomical Society of 
Toronto is an account, by the late Mr. Carpmael, directoy of our Obser- 
vatory, of the aurora of February 22nd and 23rd, 1894, the date of an- 
other of the magnetic storms and sun-spot displays above noted. He 
says that “on the 22nd, streamers from the corona extended to the 
celestial equator,” and that on the 23rd, “we seemed to be in the centre 
of a vast tent of brilliant colors, yellow, red, green, and bright silver.” 
Every great aurora corresponds to a severe magnetic storm, and even 
bright local ones seldom occur without some magnetic disturbance- 
Nansen, in the “ Fram,” noted eleven aurore. Two are coincident with 
remarkable magnetic dips, three with slight ones, the others were evi- 
dently strictly local, possibly not intense, for they did not influence the 
daily mean of magnetic forces. The connection is so close that since 
Aurore have been regularly reported from the observing stations to the 
weather service here, it has been possible to make an auroral curve for 
Canada, and in doing so I have found no single instance of a widespread 
aurora without a magnetic dip of importance.* Curves have been studied 
out at Rome by the aid of the several foreign reports, and adding to 
American and Canadian records some from Norway, Sweden and Russia, 
given by the Specola Vaticana, I find reason for the belief that auroral 
displays, as well as magnetic force, are a measure of solar activity. In 
other words, so much solar disturbance, so much terrestrial magnetic 
disturbance, and so much aurora. If we could cover the earth with 
observers, stationing them in polar regions and in both hemispheres, if 
we could observe by day as well as by night, at full moon as well as 
new moon, it is probable that the auroral curve compiled from the united 
reports would exactly correspond with that made up from the records of 
the quivering magnets.+ 
*A curious instance of the singular localisation of aurorz is given in the ‘‘ Transactions of the Astro- 
nomical and Physical Society of Toronto,” for 1894, page 46. Mr. Copland and Mr, Urquhart, of the 
‘‘ Globe” staff, reported a case in which terrestrial magnetism interfered materially with the working of the 
telegraph between Toronto and Ottawa. No aurora was visible at either place, but it was discovered that 
brilliant aurorz were observable at several intermediate points. 
tFather Lais, of the Vatican Observatory, treating this subject in his recent Report, analyzes the statis- 
tics he has obtained from Christiania, Upsala, St. Petersburg, and Washington, and divides them into three 
categories. He deals principally with the year 1894, and his lists embrace : 
1. Aurorz accompanied by magnetic storms (five cases). 
2. Magnetic storms without aurorz (six cases). 
3. Aurore without magnetic disturbances (three cases), 
His data are incomplete, and his arrangement, therefore, faulty. 
