PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



133 



A — Antarctic Observations. Arctowski. 

 C — Canadian Weather Service Observations. 

 W — United States Weather Bureau Records. 



*— Cloudy all day and night, usually preventing- even §flimpses of clear sky. ... . , 



The Antarctic Observations are weisrhted according to the features reported ; the Canadian in the ratio 0\ 

 number and brightness ; the American Weather Bureau gives numbers only. 



Tromholt gives Norwegian Observations only, but the editor has wisely added 

 the Swedish records collected by Eubenson. The curve from the first is much 

 less instructive than that made from the two sets of figures combined, and the 

 latter is the one I present for examination. I contrast it with the &un-spot curve 

 made from the figures of Professor A. Wolfer, of Zurich. 



The auroral year begins with July 1st of one calendar year and runs to June 

 30th of the next. The difference with the sun-spot year, which follows the cal- 

 endar, has been duly allowed for in the diagram. 



A sun-spot maximum, in 1761, had just passed when these observations were 

 begun. Including it, twelve maxima and as many minima are indicated, echoed 

 by the same number of auroral maxima and minima. The gradients of the two 

 curves are generally alike, and would probably be more so if we could add con- 

 temporaneous records from other regions and so mark the irregularities due to 



where aurorae are seen to originate to the southward. The " Century Magazine " for February (1903) has a des- 

 cription of one seen March i6th. i8q8, a day on which the skies were continuously clouded for Arctowski, in the 

 Antarctic, and no aurora could be seen. At Point Barrow (lat. 71° 17' N., long. 146° 40' W.) .Mr. t,. A. 

 Mcllhennv was "watching a number of Esquimaux playing football. Suddenly they .stopped and began to 

 whistle. On being asked why, they pointed to a small bright spot near the south-eastern horizon, and said they 

 were calling the aurora, a inarvell<>us display of which immediately ensued. From the spot in the south-east 

 there shot up a ray of bright rosy light, etc., etc." Mr. F. W. Stokes has an article on the aurora in the same 

 "Century," and he was north of the ellipse in lat. 64" .0' N., long, .ss'' W.. for he writes that when he was 

 called on deck by exclamations of enthusiasm. " a faint film had arisen at a point low on the south-eastern 

 horizon. Then, silently and swittly, a curtain of light arose," and Mr. Stokes vivid sense of co.our and torm en- 

 abled him to perceive that in the north " great nature's palette was set with more varied riches than elsewhere. 



