Meteoric Shower of November, 1837. 383 
in several instances, the train remained visible so long as to leave no 
doubt of its being a deposit of Juminous matter. It must evidently 
have required a train of singular brightness to have overcome a moon- 
light so strong, that a newspaper could easily be read by it. We 
will add, for the sake of comparison with other observers, the partic- 
ulars of a few of the meteors most remarkable for the length and 
splendor of their trains. 
lh. 40m.—F rom near § Leonis, length 45°. 
2h. 42m.—Origin, 3° N. of Capella, extinguished 6° N. of Alpha 
Arietis—as large as Jupiter—train writhed for 3 seconds 
and then faded away. : 
4h. 6m.—Origin in the head of Perseus—extinguished near Mi- 
rach—brilliant train of 20°-—remained 3 seconds. 
Ah. 59m.—Course towards Procyon—train 6° and swelled out in 
the middle. 
5h. 6m.—Origin 4° above 7 Leonis—extinguished 5° above 5 Ca- 
nis Majoris—length of train 16°—meteor as bright as Sirius. 
1V. Vevocirizs. 
The velocity of most of the shooting stars was surprisingly great, 
the time of flight being in many cases not more than a quarter of a 
second, and rarely exceeding a second. It has already been re- 
marked, that such as moved horizontally from west to east had a 
comparatively slow motion. On the evening of the 16th of Novem- 
ber, at 10h. 25m., I saw a large dull red meteor sailing along the 
southern sky from west to east, at an elevation of 20°, which occu- 
pied 10 seconds. 
2. Observations made in various other places. 
I learn from abroad, that on the night preceding the 13th of No- 
vember, a careful watch was maintained in various parts of the Uni- 
ted States, both at literary institutions and by private individuals, 
Such results as I have been able to ascertain from the public papers, 
and from numerous communications obligingly made, either to my- 
self or to my friends, Prof. Silliman and Mr. E. C. Herrick, I pro- 
ceed to lay before the reader, regretting that the limits of this arti- 
cle do not permit the insertion at large of the copious documents in 
my possession. 
In the city of New York, a strict watch was maintained by Mr. 
G. C. Schaeffer and Mr. F. A. P. Barnard, both well known as 
