Miscellanies. 403 



19. Barometric Minima of Fehruai^y 16-19, 1842. — During the vio- 

 lent gale, which swept along the coast of the United States between the 

 15th and 20th of February last, the oscillations of the barometer, were 

 very extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented. In Boston, the follow- 

 ing were the observed altitudes of the mercury in that instrument, re- 

 duced to the temperature 50°, to the mean level of the sea, and to the 

 true level of the cistern. 



Feb. 



fall 1.89 in 27 hours, 

 rise 1.92 in 30 " 

 stationary 5 hours, 

 fall 0.93 in 24 hours, 

 rise 0.97 " 



Amount of oscillations 5.71 inches in 4 days 11 hours. 

 The least height I had ever previously noticed in Boston, occurred 

 Jan. 1st, 1827,, viz. 28.62, and the greatest on Jan. 1st, 1839, 31.11. 

 From the above, it appears that the extreme range in Boston, in the 

 course of many years is 2.64 inches, nearly three quarters of which 

 were twice experienced in 57 hours between Feb. 15th and 17th last. 

 Boston, March 7, 1842. R. T. P. 



At New Haven, Conn., the barometric minimum occurred Feb. 16th, 

 lOA. P.M., the column, when reduced as above, standing at 28.69 inches. 

 During the day the gale blew from S. 62° E. ; on the 17th, from N. 

 88° W.— Eds. 



20. Meteorite of Chateau- Renard. — A fragment of the meteorite 

 which fell near Chateau-Eenard, in France, June 12, 1841, has been 

 examined by M. Dufz'enoy. The meteorite appears to have burst, at an 

 elevation which cannot be determined, into several pieces, of which two 

 only were seen to fall on the earth, about forty paces apart. One of 

 these pieces falling on a rock was broken into a multitude of small 

 fragments ; the other buried itself to a depth of about 20 centimetres, 

 (8 inches,) and has separated into but a iew fragments, of which the 

 largest is 35 centimetres (14 inches) long, and 1 1 centimetres (4J inches) 

 wide. 



The exterior of this stone is covered with the black crust which is 

 observed on all meteorites. Its fracture is granular. A small vein tra- 

 verses the whole mass. Externally this meteorite resembles trachyte ; 

 it is of a clear gray, and is composed entirely of crystalline portions, 

 which cross each other as in the volcanic porphyries. However, the 

 spherules of metallic iron, which are scattered with much uniformity, 

 throughout the mass of the stone, indicate a different nature from that 

 of any terrestrial product, for iron is not found here in a metallic state : 



