466 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



right angled prism. It was found that the power of fourteen was best suited to 

 show the faint portions, as the prism absorbed so much light that the seeing with 

 higher powers was not satisfactory. No attempt was made to study the nucleus 

 or coma critically, as it was evident that the telescopic power was far from suffi- 

 cient for the purpose. Chief attention was given to the appearance of the fainter 

 portions, and the results seem to repay the labor expended. 



The comet was first seen on the morning of September 26th, when it was 

 low down in the horizon but quite brilliant. The nucleus was estimated to be of 

 the same brightness as Procyon, and was seen until fifteen minutes before sun- 

 rise. The tail was about five and a half degrees long, and ceased to be visible 

 twenty minutes before sunrise. 



On October 9th the comet presented a truly beautiful appearance. As seen 

 with the low power the nucleus appeared slightly granular and elongated in the 

 direction of the tail. There was no dark streak in the tail near the nucleus. It 

 was on this morning that I first saw a peculiar appearance extending from the 

 nucleus toward the Sun. It consisted of two streaks of faint light, one on the 

 north and one on the south side of the coma. The one on the north side was- 

 between twenty and twenty-five minutes from the nucleus, ran parallel, or nearly 

 so, to the centre line of the tail, was quite distinctly bounded on the side away 

 from the nucleus, but faded gradually away toward the comet proper. This 

 streak extended fully half a degree from the nucleus toward the Sun, and was 

 no brighter than the fainter portions of the tail that could be seen through the- 

 telescope. The streak on the south side was quite similar in general appearance, 

 but it was only about fifteen minutes from the nucleus and extended only fifteen 

 minutes toward the Sun. Both of these streaks extended westward from the Sun 

 until they met the tail where it was broad enough to equal the distance between 

 them. The first appearance of dawn was quite sufficient to render these streaks 

 invisible. 



On October 13th, this forward haze was somewhat longer, and of about the 

 same breadth. The streaks were united by a faint haze that extended across in 

 front of the nucleus and coma. The brighter portion of the tail seemed to be 

 enveloped in a thin haze, and the forward haze was but a continuation of this. 

 From this time the haze grew larger and brighter until, on October 15th, it was 

 fully three degrees long, slightly parabolic in its outlines, (but the end was ill-de- 

 fined), and of nearly uniform brightness throughout. It was bright enough to 

 be seen with the naked eye on October 14th but it was an unusually clear morn- 

 ing. After the 15th the haze began to grow smaller and less brilliant, the de- 

 crease in size being very gradual at first. The lessening was first seen in the 

 central parts of the haze becoming much fainter than the edges ; then the end of 

 the haze began to disappear, until, on October 25th, the haze was somewhat 

 similar to its appearance when first seen on the 9th, but the boundaries were not 

 so distinct. 



What these appearances mean I do not know. The only case that is at all 

 similar that I have met with is that of a comet of 1824 which had a tail seven dfi- 



