290 



REPORT — 1869. 



In an excellent meteorological register kept on board of the ship ' Siberia,' 

 between Boston and 'New York, by Captain Mostyn, there is recorded on the 

 night of the 13th and early morning of the 14th of November, 1868, 

 " Meteors glancing from east to west, at an average rate of five or six per 

 minute, at times leaving a luminous track extending 15° or 20°, which re- 

 mained visible 4 or 5 minutes. The night being perfectly clear gave an ad- 

 ditional effect to the gorgeous display." 



A good Weather-register kept by Captain C. T. Eaymond, on board of the 

 ship ' British India,' gives a description of the shower as it appeared to him 

 in southern latitudes. 



"November 13th, 1868, at lOh. 30m. p.m. in S. lat. 2G° 3', W. long. 27° 

 37'. — -A perfect shower of shooting-stai's commenced, and continued until 

 the rising sun extinguished their light. It might be best compared to a 

 shower of rockets ; for, like them, they left long trains behind, moving con- 

 fusedly in aU directions, some falling perpendicularly, some obliquely, some 

 horizontally describing curves, and some even slightly ascending. Some 

 shone with a bright green light, exploding at last into many pieces, but 

 without report ; some "ndth a dull red, and some with a faint yellow. It re- 

 sembled in every respect a similar shower which I witnessed in Bombay, 

 14th November, 1866. At times the meteors fell as dense as snow-flakes. 



" I could not detect any uniformity, either with regard to the point of the 

 heavens whence they started, or whither they fell. Most fell perpendicu- 

 larly, and with a prodigious velocity." 



The following description of the meteoric shower in America, as observed 

 at Haverford College, Pa., by Prof. Samuel J. Gummere, was received, at 

 the time of its occurrence, by the Committee from Mr. B. V. Marsh : — 



"Meteoric Shower, November 13-1 4th, 1868, as observed at Haverford 

 College, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. Latitude 40° 0' 46", 

 longitude 5h. Im. 13s. 



" The watch commenced at lOh. 45m. p.m., November 13th. About eleven 

 o'clock two or three very fine meteors were seen coming from the direction 

 of Leo, which was yet below the horizon. At llh. 17m. one directly from 

 Leo. The train, of a spiral form, remained visible ten minutes near the con- 

 stellation Perseus. Seventeen minutes later another in the south-west ex- 

 hibited a train of similar form for the space of seven minutes. Persistency 

 and brilliancy of train, with variety of colour, continued to be a marked 

 feature of the whole display. 



" At midnight about two hundred meteors had been counted. From this 

 time the reckoning was as in the following Table : — 



" The counting was discontinued at oh. 41m., although several hundreds- 

 were seen between that time and sunrise. 



