Miscellanies. 399 



served one hund,red and fourteen shooting stars. This fact was an- 

 nounced in his Astronomical Annual for 1840, p. 91. 



15. .Determination of Longitude hy Shooting Stars. — It has been 

 stated that Dr. Maskelyne first suggested (in 1783 }) the utility of cor- 

 responding observations of shooting stars and the larger fire-balls for 

 the determination of differences of longitude. It appears, however, 

 that George Lynn is entitled to the credit of a distinct proposal of this 

 kind, made much earlier, in a paper entitled " A method for determin- 

 ing the Geographical Longitude of Places from the appearance of the 

 common meteors called Falling Stars,'''' published in the Philos. Trans, 

 of the Royal Society of London, for 1727, No. 400, p. 351. A sug- 

 gestion somewhat less comprehensive was made still earlier by Dr. Hal- 

 ley, in his account of a large meteor seen in England March 19, 1719, 

 (Philos. Trans. 1719, No. 360.) He says " a considerable use might be 

 made of these momentaneous phenomena for determining the geograph- 

 ical longitudes of places. For if in any places, two observers by help 

 of pendulum clocks, duly corrected by celestial observation, exactly 

 note at what hour, minute, and second such a meteor as this explodes, 

 and is extinguished, the difference of the times will be the difference 

 of longitude of the two places, as is well known." 



16. Ancient Meteorological Memoranda. — The following notices are 

 copied from entries made by the Rev. James Pierpont, (minister of the 

 first church in New Haven, Conn.) on the blank leaves of an almanac 

 for the year 1692, (by John Tulley : Cambridge, Mass. : printed by 

 Samuel Green and Bartholomew Green, for Samuel Phillips.) The 

 dates being in the Julian style, must of course be advanced ten days to 

 bring them to our present reckoning. E. C. H. 



1692. Tuesday, Fehruary 23. At night an unusual eastern storm of 

 furious wind and rain began, and continued till Sabbath following. 

 Rivers higher than ever known. Wallingford bridge carried away : 

 Great damage through the country. 



Thursday, March 3. The aforesaid storm renewed, and continued for 



that day. 



July 1. Latter end of June, multitudes of caterpillars fell on corn, 

 and did much spoil in some places, but were remarkably checkt with 

 us. 



July 4. Excessive hot, and a sore drought about the time. 



July 9. Excessive hot again. About the time a severe drought. 

 Indian corn almost spoiled : all signs of rain vanisht in drought. 



July 11. Unexpectedly, and without foregoing signs, a long shower, 

 which revived all things languishing before. 



