Miscellanies. 20 1 



set, a strong red light over the sky south of east was limited on the 



north by a bright blue radiation. On the north of that was a yellowish 



red radiation, then a radiation of blue light, and then a pale yellow 



light which extended quite across to the thunder cloud in the northwest, 



at an elevation of about 35°. This appearance was seen at the same 



time in this city. Is it not connected with the aurora borealis .? 



C. Dewey. 

 Rochester, N. Y., Sept. 17, 1840. 



6. Shooting Stars in June. — The following extracts from various 

 sources, relating to shooting stars seen in different years about the 15th 

 of June, are perhaps worthy of being published in connection, for the 

 purpose of calling the attention of observers to this period. 



E. C. Herrick. 



(1.) "When we were between the Isle of Madeira and the coasts of Africa, we 

 had slight breezes and dead calms, very favorable for the magnetic observations 

 which occupied me during this passage. We were never wearied of admiring the 

 beauty of the nights; nothing can be compared to tlie transparency and serenity 

 of an African sky. We were struck toith the innumerable quantity of falling stars 

 which appeared every instant. The farther progress we made toioards the south, the 

 more frequent was this phenomenon, especially near the Canaries. I have observed 

 during my excursions that these igneous meteors are in general more common and 

 luminous in some regions of the globe than in others; I have never beheld them 

 so multiplied as in the vicinity of the volcanoes of the province of Q,uito, and in 

 the part of the Pacific Ocean which bathes the volcanic coasts of Guatimala. The 

 influence which place, climate, and seasons appear to have on the falling stars, 

 distinguishes this class of meteors from those which give birth to stones that fall 

 from the sky, (aerolites,) and which probably exist beyond the boundaries of our 

 atmosphere." — Jl. Von Humboldt's Personal JVarrative, trans, by Helen M. Wil- 

 liams. 3d ed. Lond. 1822-9, Vol. I, pp. 75, 76. 



The season which appears to be referred to in that part which I have 

 put in italics, is from the 15th to the 20th of June, 1799. Possibly the 

 original is somewhat exaggerated in the translation. 



(2.) "We did not, in consequence, reach Koum Kale, till two in the morning, 

 [of June 18, 1812.] when we found a boat waiting fur us in which we went imme- 

 diately on board the frigate, [anchored off the entrance into the Dardanelles.] 

 During our passage there, I was surprised at the number of meteors, called falling 

 stars, which I observed in the clear sky : we were only half an hour rowing to the 

 ship, and in that time I counted nineteen." — Journal of a Tour in the Levant, by 

 William Turner, Esq. Lond. 1820, 3 v. 8vo., Vol. I, p. 41. 



(3.) " Here in the torrid zone, the sea of an indigo blue color, rolled in uniform 

 waves, and began to shine generally, and with great splendor, during the night ; 

 a phenomenon which we had hitherto seldom observed. This magnificent appear- 

 ance, the frequent lightnings, and innumerable falling stars, together with the 

 greater sultriness of the air, seemed to indicate a higher degree of electricity in 

 the element," &c. — Spix and Von Martins s Travels in Brazil, 1817-20, trans. 

 by Lloyd. Lond. 1824, Vol. I, p. 105, [Refers to a date between June 12 and 15, 

 1817.] 



Vol. XLii, No. 1.— Oct.-Dec. 1841. 26 



