380 REPORT—1868. 
twelve meteors observed, twenty-one on the 8th, none on the 9th, the sky 
being overcast, twenty-five on the 10th, eleven on the 12th, and eleven on 
the 13th, making a total for the seven nights of eighty meteors, of which 
no fewer than fifty-two are referable to Radiant A,,. It was considered 
that the meteors were unusually scanty in number on all these nights. 
At the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, on the evening of the 8th of August 
six meteors, and on that of the 9th four meteors were observed, the sky on 
these nights being frequently obscured by clouds. On the night of the 10th 
the sky became clear at 9” p.m.; but in the first forty-five minutes, although 
a strict watch was kept, no meteors were observed. In the interval between 
9" 45™ pw. and 1" 20™ a.m. on the 11th, the paths and other particulars of 
fifty-six meteors were recorded by Mr. Lucas. At about 11" p.m. faint 
auroral streamers near the Milky Way were observed by Mr. Main; and 
several distant flashes of lightning were seen, during the next hour, in a 
quarter of the horizon where the sky was free from clouds. 
On the night of the 11th, Mr. Lucas, watching alone, recorded twenty-six 
meteors in the space of three hours and a quarter, between 9° p.m. and 
12" 15™ a.m. on the 12th; a thick haze then sprang up, through which only 
the largest stars could be discerned. 
On the night of the 12th the clouds cleared off at about 11" p.m. ; and in 
the space of 2" 23", between 11° 17™ p.at. and 1” 40™ a.m. on the 13th, Mr. 
Lucas, watching alone, again recorded twenty-six meteors. 
At Highfield-House Observatory, Beeston, Mr. Lowe observed twenty-six 
meteors, and recorded the paths and instants of their appearance to the 
nearest second of Greenwich time, between 9" 30™ p.m. and midnight, on the 
evening of the 10th. Twenty other meteors were observed, of which no 
record was included in the list. In the earlier part of the evening the sky 
was overcast, and a thunder-storm commenced at 6" a.m., on the 11th, with 
abundant rain (2 inches falling during the day), which put an end to the 
long previous drought. ‘The meteors were most abundant between 10" p.m. 
and 10" 15™ p.m., and there were several points of convergence: one in the 
sword-handle of Perseus, and another slightly north of and above Cassiopeia, 
accounted for most of the meteors. The paths were very short in all meteors 
seen near these points; those meteors in Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, and 
in 8. and 8.W., had very long paths. All were blue or colourless, mostly 
intense blue, and nearly all had streaks, were very rapid in their movements, 
and vanished instantaneously. From 11" p.m. clouds and moonlight inter- 
fered much with the observations. The meteor at 9" 58™ 50°* was very re- 
markable. During the last few days there have been several large meteors 
each evening between 9° 15™ p.m. and 10" 15™ p.m.” 
On the night of the 11th the sky was entirely overcast. 
At Birmingham, on the night of the 8th of August, the sky was clear from 
98 50™ pw. until 11" 50™ p.w., and Mr. W. H. Wood, observing alone, re- 
corded fourteen meteors in two hours. Two of these meteors exhibited in- 
termittent light. 
On the night of the 9th the sky became clear soon after 9" 30™ p.m., and 
forty-one meteors were recorded by Mr. Wood in three hours. Between 
11" 20™ p.m. and midnight there was a remarkable scarcity of meteors, two 
meteors only being seen in forty minutes. 
The sky became clear on the night of the 10th at ten o’clock, and forty- 
two meteors were recorded by Mr. Wood, observing alone, in two hours and 
* Described at length in the Catalogue, and in Mr. Lowe’s MS., at the end of this Re- 
port. 
