98 FHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1770. 



L 1 The seed vessel of the Chinese illicium, with only 8 capsules. Kaerapfer reckons the same 

 number in the Japonese illicium, which he calls somo, or skimrai. m Two of the seeds j they are called 

 semen badian, and used in medicine in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. The Dutch import large 

 quantities of them from China. 



XLVI. Of a Very Remarkable Meteor seen at Oxford. By the Rev. John 



Swinton, B. D., F. R. S. p. 532. 

 The person who first saw the very remarkable luminous appearances in the 

 air here, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 17 69, was the Rev. Mr. Cleaver, student of 

 Christ-church; who, on his return home, at a village called Horton, 6 or 7 

 miles from Oxford, about 7** 15™ p. m. observed, with some degree of astonish- 

 ment, a dark fuscous vapour, resembling a blackish cloud, contiguous to the 

 northern horizon. Out of this vapour there issued another of a flame colour, in 

 the n. n. w. His account of it was, that " it looked like a house, or building, 

 set on fire." This at first was confined to a very small space in the heavens, but 

 soon after expanded itself in such a manner, that it covered a very large and 

 extensive tract.in that part of the hemisphere where it first appeared. In this 

 state the meteor continued till 7^ 45"" p. m. when it assumed a deep blood-red 

 colour, moving a little towards the west, which gave it a very awful aspect. 

 Mr. Cleaver said, that he saw not the faintest traces of it after 8 o'clock, so that 

 it might probably about that time, or a little before, have totally disa{)peared. 



The same night, at 8*" JO" p. m. Mr. S. saw in the great quadrangle of Christ- 

 church, and that part of Fish-street adjoining to it, several lucid streamers, 

 ascending in the n. and n. w. from the horizon, or rather a dusky kind of 

 vapour contiguous to it, to a very considerable height. These all moved towards 

 the s. and s. e. with great velocity; and soon after many other similar streams 

 of light shot up from the horizon, in various parts of the hemisphere, particu- 

 larly in the s. and s. e. They were all of a very pale yellow colour, such as 

 those that form the aurorae boreales of the common kind. They constantly 

 multiplied, in so amazing a manner, and with such surprizing celebrity, that by 

 e** 15"" p. M. they seemed to have almost entirely covered the greatest part of 

 the hemisphere, and then centred in a point a little to the s. of the zenith. 

 They were attended by an infinite number of flashes, or corruscations, and 

 undulations of the lucid matter, as is usual in such phenomena. In fine, the 

 whole atmosphere, or rather the whole collection of the luminous vapour lodged 

 in it, was in a continual agitation for above a quarter of an hour, during which 

 time, the whole hemisphere seemed to be all on a blaze. This most glorious and 

 extraordinary appearance was, however, of a very short and inconsiderable 

 duration ; the extinction of the whole being so completely effected by 8*^ 40™ 

 p. M. that no remains of the phenomenon, in any part of the heavens, could 

 then be discerned. 



