Proceedings of the British Association. 337 



daily call attention to the extremely remarkable phenomena ex- 

 hibited at Toronto on the 29th and 30th of May, when, by great 

 good fortune, a most superb Aurora appeared at the very time of 

 the term observations. The phenomena of this Aurora, which was 

 remarkable for the extent and frequency of the pulsating waves, (al- 

 luded to in the Report of the Council of the Royal Society, relating 

 to this subject,) are very minutely and scientifically described by 

 Mr. Riddell.* But what renders the occurrence presently inter- 

 esting, is the fact, that during the whole time of the visible ap- 

 pearance of this aurora on the night from the 29th to the SOth, 

 as well as for some hours previous, while it might be presumed 

 to be in progress, though effaced by daylight, all the three mag- 

 netical instruments were thrown into a state of continual and 

 very extraordinary disturbance. In fact, at 6/i. 25m. in the morn- 

 ing of the 29th, the disturbance in the magnetic declination du- 

 ring a single minute of time carried the needle over ten minutes 

 of arc ; and during the most brilliant part of the evening's dis- 

 play (from 3/i. 25m. Gott. m. t. to 4A,. 35m/.) the disturbances 

 were such as to throw the scales of both the vertical and hori- 

 zontal force magnetometers out of the field of view, and to pro- 

 duce a total change of declination, amounting to 1° 59'. It 

 should also be remarked, that the greatest and most sudden dis- 

 turbances were coincident with great bursts of the auroral stream- 

 ers. The correspondence or want of correspondence of these 

 deviations with the perturbations of the magnetic elements ob- 

 served in Europe and elsewhere on the same day, cannot fail to 

 prove of great interest. Should it fortunately have happened 

 that Capt. Ross has been able to observe that term at Kerguelen's 

 Land, which is not very far from the antipodes of Toronto, an 

 indication will be afforded whether or not the electric streams 

 producing the aurora are to be regarded as diverging from one 

 magnetic pole or region, and converging to another. Your com- 

 mittee cannot conclude this report, without congratulating the 

 Association and the scientific world in general on the extensive 

 interest inspired, and the vast range of observation consequently 

 embraced by this operation, which, so far as any accounts have 



* Some notices of this auroral display have appeared in this Journal, (Vol 39, pp. 

 194, 383.) It was attended with a singular auroral belt, extending over head from 

 east to west, which was seen as far eastward at least as Nantucket, and westward 

 several hundred miles from that island. — Eus. 



