Meteorology. 429 



he only dim fpecks. The time of obfefvation was above 'five 

 minutes. 



The Decade Vh'ihfopb'ique contains an account of a lingu- 

 lar phenomenon which was obferved on the 19th of Augufi 

 laft, at Caumont, principal town of the diftritt, at the etf- 

 tremitv of the department of Calvados. — " The weather 

 -was fine; a few light clouds fcattercd here and there in the 

 Gey. The atmofphere was loaded with vapours, the wind 

 North Weft, the barometer at 38 and a fraction, and Reau- 

 mur's thermometer at between J 8 and 19 degrees, about 

 73° of Fanf. A circle' of white clouds was formed about the 

 altitude of the fun, paffed through its centre, ilretching uni- 

 formly to the fame height in a horizontal plane.- This cir- 

 cle, or belt, in its greirJeft breadth, was nearly the fize of 

 the fun's ferni-diameter. On this circle were projected two 

 parhelia or difks nearly of the fame fize as that of the fun, 

 from which they were at equal diftances ; the one at the 

 right, the other at the left, at the diftance of. about 45 de- 

 grees each from the fun. In each of thefe difks, the part op- 

 posite to the fun was very luminous, to the extent of nearly three 

 parts of their diameter, and prefented prifmatic colours. The 

 reft was nebulous (that part next the fun). At about no 

 degrees from the fun on each fide, appeared two other difks 

 traced upon the fame circle at equal" difiances. But they 

 were perfectly of the fame whitenefs with the circle, and 

 were not quite round. A femicircle rofe above the 'fun, 1 and 

 formed an arch, the cord or bafe of which was a feclion of 

 the great white circle, the centre of which was the fun. 

 The radius of this femicircle was about 23 degrees, and ter- 

 minated on each fide of the fun nearly at half the difiance 

 of the fun from each of the luminous difks. This femi- 

 circle uniformly contained a vapour of a clear brown, the 

 extremities of which, without any fhade, ran into the fur- 

 rounding atmofphere. This phenomenon continued for 

 Dearly an hour. The circle began to fade on the North fide, 



wbtrt 



