384 On the Meteors of 13th November. 
unusual number of electric sparks. On turning a small machine, 
he found the sparks which were usually short and feeble, much long» 
er and more intense than he had ever seen them before. On pre- 
senting silk threads to an iron bar that stood on the ground leaing 
against the house, they were strongly attracted towards the iro 
He next examined his compass; found the needle more ahaa 
than ordinary, but on adjusting it to the meridian as nearly as = could, 
judged the declination of the needle to be the same as usu 
The meteors when first observed, were of a reddish vai Their 
number doubled within half an hour after his observations began, as 
he judged by comparing them with a given number of stars, which 
he took as os standard. They all apparently proceeded from a. cir 
cular space S. EK. from the zenith, and lighter than the adjacent parts 
of the sonnel which was small at first, but gradually enlarged its di- 
mensions to the end of the observations, at which period it was many 
times larger than at first. Within this space he was unable to dis- 
cover any meteors while standing erect, but by lying on his back he 
near ony iS dweding) to te height of 200 feet. Nothing peculiar pre- 
sented itself, except that the meteors appeared fewer in number 
nee than at the previous level. He staid there fifteen minutes and 
then returned. 
rom three to four o’clock the air was still, but at 4 o’clock, a 
strong gust of wind blew for a short time from the north west, and 
immediately afterwards, the meteors increased astonishingly. ‘This 
period, viz., four o’clock, may be considered as that of the maxi- 
mum. ‘These gusts returned at moderate intervals, with less and 
less force, each time occasioning a perceptible increase of meteors. 
The trains left by the exploding balls, were usually of a yellowish 
hue, but sometimes reddish. The streak was broadest in the mid- 
dle. He heard at different times a stb of slight explosions, 
which usually resembled the noise of a child’s pop-gun, and was not 
unlike that of a fire-rocket. They were followed by a peculiar odor 
observed by all the company, (four men,) which one compared to the 
smell of sulphur, and another to that of onions. he meteors which 
afforded these sounds, all passed along in a north-west direction. 
Two of them had each a well defined nucleus, of the size of a tea 
cup. They severally afforded so much light that Mr. P. could dis- 
tinguish the color of a man’s beard. They passed below the tops of 
the trees at the distance of twenty five rods from the place where he 
stood, giving a “ pop” just before they reached the trees. 
ne appeared to strike the barn, and gave a louder pop than any 
of the others. An auroral light resembling day-break, appeared 
constantly in the east from the time when his observations commenced. 
