174 Miscellanies. 



was clear for only about an hour, viz. between three-quarters past one 

 and two, when but one meteor was seen. The second was clear until 

 half past two; but not even an ordinary average number of meteors 

 was seen. 



On the authority of a letter from Mr. Levett Harris, Dr. Bache re- 

 ported the decease of Mr. F. H. Le Comte, of Paris, a member of the 

 Society. 



December 21, 1838. — The Committee on the solar eclipse of the 

 18th of September, made a further Report in part, comprising the 

 following observations, received through the attentions of their cor- 

 respondent, Prof. S. Alexander, of Princeton College, New Jersey : — - 



No. 32, by Prof. Augustus A. Smith, of the Wesleyan University, 

 Middlelown, Conn. Latitude 41° 33' 8" N. : longitude as deduced by 

 himself from this observation, by the method of Woolhouse, in the 

 Nautical Almanac for 1837, 4A. 50m. 2s. W. 



h. m. s. 

 Beginning, - - 3 22 0.31 Mean time. 

 End, - - - 5 52 1.46 Mean time. 



His telescope was a Herschelian, by Holcomb, seven feet in length, 

 six inches in aperture, with a deep red screen glass, power 150. 

 "There was nothing unusual in the appearance, except, perhaps, about 

 the time of greatest obscuration. At first were seen two or three 

 brushes or pencils of light, streaming out from that border of the 

 moon, which was not projected on the sun's disc, about equidistant 

 from each other, and from the higher cusp of the sun. These soon 

 disappeared, and were succeeded by a faint diffuse light, bordering 

 two-thirds of the lower part of the sun's limb. The duration of this 

 appeai-ance was not noted." 



Prof. Smith also noticed an indentation in the sun's limb, which he 

 attributes to the protrusion of a lunar mountain, before any other por- 

 tion of the moon was visible on the sun's disc. The Committee are 

 of opinion that this appearance should be referred to that class of 

 phenomena which usually precede and follow a central eclipse and 

 which are to be ascribed to some optical cause rather than to the pro- 

 trusion of lunar mountains. 



No. 33, by Mr. I. N. Z. Blaney, at New Castle, Del., latitude 39° 

 40' N., longitude 5A. 2m. 8s. W. ; observation of the duration of the 



ring with a spy-glass, with smoked glass screen. 



m. s. 



From the appearance of the drops to the rupture of the ring, 4 47 



From the perfect formation of the ring to the perfect rupture, 4 45 



Prof. Alexander remarks that the luminous arch round the moon's 



dark limb, and the brush of light were only partially visible in his 4 



