ie 
439 
4, At any-given époch | to the lon- 
tude of Neptune Jan. 1 ¥ by the quan- 
ity 1° 53’, and also by halt he qu n— 14’, which is half 
ae: arc of longitude traversed by Neptune from Jan. 4, 1847, to the 
en 
epoch. >> 
5. The brilliancy of the planet may be presumed to be equal to that 
of a star of the 10th or 11th magnit: 
6. If the planet is found in the Heenan indicated, we may empirically 
substitute for the law of Bodg, the law of. double revolutions for the 
planets exterior to Saturn 
planet yet more distant, pee a period of 672 years, and a dis- 
tance of 77 from the sun, would probably not appear larger than a star 
of the 18th: magnitude, and could with difficulty be found by direct 
observation. 
In remarking upon this communic , M. Le Verrier states that he 
had been engaged in simila ‘but he had abandoned. them 
when he —_ that the pl Fapuie completely satisfied the theory 
of Uranus. He-Saw no reason*to bélieve in the existence of such a 
planet as M. Babinet supposes {o warrant astronomers n seare 
ing for it. - 
Shooting Stars of August 10, 1848.—In our last number, ( 
279 ) we gave the observations” made, at New Haven upon the shooting 
Stars of. August 10, 1848, which showed that the meteors appeared at 
that season in their ‘usual abundance. Observations made in France 
give the same result. M. Coulvier Gravier, ‘with an assistant, counted 
on the night of August 9410, 1848, from 11) 30" to 12h 30, eighty-six 
shooting stars: the whole ‘number courted from 11h 30™-to Qh 45™, was 
four hundred and fourteen. For the sake of comparison, M. Grav vier 
_ the ‘llowigtvervatons made at the same hour of night, ‘viz. 
11h 30m ; 
July 26, . . 22 meteors. Aug. 6 ; . 27 meteors. 
ties 15 , s 7; * . 30 Me 
: ae ee ae 
Re iil dla « tect oe 
Ey page or 16 1 : “ 7 A AG. : Mande 
hese observations confirm the statements At published in 
this eaivost that shooting stars increase in uency during several 
ys, becoming most abundant about the 10th of August, and after that 
decrease at a similar rate. 
VY. MiscELLANEoUS INTELLIGENCE. “4 
. Electricity, as applied to Telegraphic Purposes, (Mining Jou 
hte “Jane 3, 1848.)—On Wednesday evening last, at the Royal College 
of Cheniistry, Dr. Ryan delivered a lecture on the above subject, to a 
full and attentive audience. He introduced his lecture, by observing— 
that electricity could no longer be considered an abstract, or separate 
dis nc | had proved 
that the whole phenomena were_the results of cal action, and 
it must be considered therefore, ‘a branch of the IRictes of chemistry. 
