OF A METEORIC riRE-BALL. 13 



gent young man," reports having seen a, very bright meteor appear in N. W. at an 

 altitude of about 35° ; pass north of him, and disappear in the N. E., or perhaps a 

 little further east, at about the same altitude as when it first appeared. The time 

 was in J*uly, but Mr. D. is not certain as to the day ; thinks it was earlier than the 

 20th. But his description corresponds so Avell with the phenomena that the meteor 

 of July 20th must have exhibited ; and there being proof from independent testi- 

 mony that the latter was seen at Flint, it seems probable that the two were iden- 

 tical. 



Mrs. Rankin, wife of the publisher of a newspaper in Flint, also reports having 

 seen a very bright meteor appear in the N. W. on the evening of July 20th ; but 

 is unable to locate its exact position or course. 



Dr. Clark himself saw the light of it, which he says was so brilliant as to illumi- 

 nate the whole street that he was crossing, but the body of the meteor was con- 

 cealed by the dense foliage of intervening trees. The time was about 9 o'clock, 

 and the light so strongly resembled that of a lantern near by, that he at the instant 

 turned his eyes in the direction of the supposed bearer of it ; and it was not till his 

 little son, who saw the meteor from the other side of the street, had twice uttered 

 an exclamation of surprise, that he comprehended the true cause of the phenomenon, 

 and it was then too late to get a sight of it.' 



Fordham, New York, Lat. 40° 54', Long. 74° 3'. Eeported in the newspapers as 

 visible 1| minutes. 



Fort Erie, Canada West, Lat. 42° 52', Long. 78° 57'. " Visible for a minute;" 

 " moved from W. N. W. to E. S. E. ;" " appeared, from the intensity of its action, 

 as if about to burst, but emitted no sparks."^ 



Freedom, Ohio, No. 120. Communicated by S. M. Luther from observations 

 made by others ; mode of observation not specified. 



Fulton, New York, No. 142. The meteor is reported to have occulted the planet 

 Mars. Observer's name not ascertained. 



Oermantoion, Pennsylvania, Nos. 14, 18, 21, 40, 43, 45, 49, 56, and 173. No. 173 

 was observed by Charles J. Wister, Jr. All the others were communicated by 

 Benjamin V. Marsh in a letter from which the following extracts are taken : — 



" 1st. As to the point of appearance. Robert Aertsen, at Germantown, 6 miles 

 N. N. W. from the State house, was sitting on his piazza fronting N. W., and saw 

 it emerge from behind W. Gummere's house opposite, or else originating near it — 

 he cannot say which — but he was very positive as to the part of the building near 

 which he first saw it. I got him to direct the telescope of a theodolite to the point, 

 and the result was — 



" Azimuth N. 45° W. (true). Altitude 12°. 



" When I caught sight of it, several seconds after its first appearance, I thought 

 it was about 5° west of north, at an elevation of near 20°, but I do not feel any- 

 thing like the confidence in this, that I do in my idea of the later part of its course. 



* According to calculation, tbe meteor passed the meridian of Flint at 91i. Sm. 14 sec. 

 ° Communicated by Milo R. Fames, of Buffalo, from a newspaper report. According to the cal- 

 culated path, it "burst" about 12 or 13 seconds after it passed the meridian of this place. 



