398 Miscellanies. 
done, the pecuniary embarrassment of the country came on; and it 
was deemed expedient to withhold all solicitation after about $1,700 
had been pledged. William Maclure, Esq. of Mexico, (to whose pa- 
tronage the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia chiefly owe 
their present prosperity,) with his usual liberality, gave the sum of 
five hundred dollars to the library, free of all conditions. 
17. Meteoric Shower in April.—The fact that a meteoric shower 
occurred about the last of April, 1803, seemed to furnish reason for 
the expectation that an unusual display of meteors might, by proper 
efforts, be detected at this season of the present year. According to 
the best information obtainable, that shower occurred on the morn- 
ing of the 20th of April, 1803. Arrangements were consequently 
made for observations on the morning of April 20, 1838, at Porto. 
Rico, W.1.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Hudson, Ohio; 
Buffalo, N. Y.; New York City, and New Haven. From Porto Rico 
no returns have been received. At Tuscaloosa, observations were 
accidentally omitted. From Hudson, Ohio, Prof. Loomis reports 
that the weather was unfavorable, but that between 31h. and 4h. 
A.M. it was clear in the east, and nothing unusual was seen. At 
Buffalo, N. Y. observations were made on the morning of the ist, 
by Mr. R. W. Haskins and Dr. C. H. Raymond. The sky was pat- 
tially cloudy, but clear enough to permit them to decide that nothing 
uncommon was visible. The previous morning was overcast. At 
New York City, Mr. G. C. Schaeffer saw nothing unusual; but the 
view was much interrupted by clouds. At this place, observations on 
‘the mornings of the 20th and 2Ist detected nothing more than com- 
mon. On the night of the 20th, at Knoxville, Tenn., Prof. Wright, 
with an assistant, saw 154 meteors between 10 P. M. and 4 A. M. of 
the 2Ist. This number is probably somewhat above the average, but 
how much above, additional observations are needed to determine. 
The facts here recorded do not decide whether a meteoric shower 
did or did not visit the earth on or about the 20th of April, 1838. In 
a.case of this nature, a negative cannot be established without a clear 
sky and numerous observers encircling the whole globe. E. C. H. 
New Haven, Conn. 
18. Improvements in Magnetical Apparatus.—At the meeting of 
the British Association, held in Bristol, in 1836, the Rev. W. Scoresby 
made a communication to the Physical Section, on an improved mode 
of construction in magnetic needles for compasses, &c. by the combi- 
nation ina parallel series, not in contact, of several thin plates of tem- 
pered steel. A variation instrument, which he at that time exhibited, 
