





Miscellaneous Intelligence. 449 



Should the whole investigation indicate no tendency to such an ap- 

 proach of the nodes as has been described, we should have reason to 

 conclude, that the hypothesis of a common origin of the planets in 

 question, in the way supposed, is untrue. 



3. New Comet. — On Wednesday evening, April 11, 1849, a teles- 

 copic comet was discovered near the Northern Crown^ by Mr. Geo. P. 

 Bond, at the Cambridge (Mass.) Observatory; this being the eighth 

 comet discovered by him before any information thereof had reached 

 this country. 



The following places (referred to the mean Equinox of Jan. 1, 1849) 

 were obtained at the Cambridge Observatory. 



Camb. m. t. A. R. Ded. N. 



1849, Apr. 11, 10^ 56™ 29* 15 h 9 m 6 3 *I1 28 38 27- 



12, 7 57 58 15 3 36 28 28 20 91 



14, 10 35 59 14 48 12 -14 27 36 337 



17, 8 48 52 14 20 40 60 25 54 234 



It has a strong, star-like central condensation, an extensive coma and 

 no tail, and was seen on the evening of April 17 by the naked eye. 



V. Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



1. On Meteoric Iron in South Carolina; by Charles Upha?i Shep- 

 ard. (Communicated for this Journal.) — For my first knowledge of this 

 meteorite, I am indebted to a letter from Dr. E. H. Andrews, of N. C, 

 dated Concord, January 16th, 1849, in which he observes thai he had just 

 been handed two or three pounds of iron, said to have been detached 

 from a larger mass, ploughed up in a field. At my request, Dr. Andrews 

 proceeded to the place, with a view to ascertain the facts in the case. 

 His letter of February 3d, from Chesterville, Chester District, South 

 Carolina, is as follows : " I received yours of the 30th ult., and the next 

 morning came down to this plac, in search of the meteoric mass and 

 the facts relating to it, which I find to be these. It was found several 

 years since by a laborer, on the plantation of Mr. Samuel M. McXeown, 

 which is situated about six and a half miles below this place, on the 

 Columbia road. His first impression on ploughing it up, was, that it 

 was the common mountain ore of the region ; but observing that it was 

 exceedingly heavy for its size, he took it to the house, where, however, 

 it excited no particular attention, and was accordingly suffered to re- 



main behind an out-building until very recently, when the finder had 

 1 the curiosity to take it to the blacksmith, who at once proved it to be 



J malleable. He cut several pieces from the mass, out of which he made 



horse-shoes, nails and hinges for a ga'e. The original weight of the 

 [ mass was thirty-six pounds. It has been reduced about one half, and 



the unworked portion is now in the possession of Dr. Wm. I). Kersh, 



of Fairfield District. 



Its original shape is described as having been oblong, with one side 

 and end thicker and rounder than their opposites; or as possessing the 



AVI (11 V/l IA V*V***%a»v^%* -- v 



face was much indented and coated by rush 



pedes of Unio). Its sur- 



I have since received specimens of the mass (two of which were in 

 a wrought condition) obtained by Dr. A., together with the larger piece 



Second Series, Vol. VII, No. 21.— Mar, 1849. 57 



