338 METEORS. 



It has been remarked that all large meteors have made 

 their first appearance in the northwest and passed on 

 to the southeast, or precisely the reverse, moving very 

 nearly in the line of the present magnetical meridian. 



METEORIC STONliS. 



Many accounts are upon record in which the explosion 

 of fire balls has been followed by a shower of stones ; 

 some so large as to sink many feet into the earth, and 

 others so small as to lie loosely upon its surface. These 

 stones, in consequence of their falling from luminous 

 bodies or meteors, are called Meteoric Stones or Meteor- 

 ites. These meteors burst with an explosion, and then 

 the shower of stones fulls to the earth. Sometimes the 

 stones continue luminous till they reach the earth, but 

 usually their luminousness disappears at the time of the 

 explosion. Their size differs from a few ounces to sev- 

 eral tons. They all resemble each other though falling 

 in the most distant parts of the globe. They are all com- 

 posed of nearly the same ingredients and completely 

 differ from every other known stone. It seems therefore 

 that these stones must have some common origin for it 

 seems otherwise inconceivable that in India, England, 

 France, Germany, Italy, and America, stones should have 

 fallen which differ from every other mineral in the coun- 

 tries in which they are found, aad which almost exactly 

 resemble one another. In Fiance, in 1492, a huge stone 

 was seen to fall immediately after a loud thunder clap. 

 On going to the place a hole was discovered, and digging 

 out the stone, it was found to have entered three feet deep, 

 and weighed 260 pounds. ' In 1790, in France, about 

 ten at night, a luminous ball was seen traversing the 

 atmosphere with great rapidity, and leaving behind it a 

 train of light which lasted about fifty seconds. Soon a 

 loud explosion was heard and sparks were seen flying off 

 in all directions. This was soon after followed by a fall 

 of stones over a considerable extent of ground and at 

 various distances from each other. These were all alike 

 in appearance, but of many different sizes, the greater 

 number weighing about two ounces, but many a vast deal 

 more; some fell with a. hissing noise and entered the 



