360 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Elsewhere the colour of the sun when setting has been almost white 

 (F.A.E.E., " Nature," 12th June), and occasionally the whole display has 

 been, to use the language of one observer (Ellery, " Nature," April), almost 

 frightful. This observation was made by Mr. Ellery hi January last in the 

 morning from the summit of a peak 3,000 feet high, and subsequent to the 

 date of that gentleman's remark that there was nothing astonishing about 

 the sunsets except that above the yellow there came a purple colour. The 

 whole landscape on that occasion was crimson blood red. Sometimes we 

 have had the second glow only, the stria and cirrus clouds having been either 

 absent or invisible. I find to my surprise that the sunrises have been as glori- 

 ous as the sunsets. No doubt every one here but myself is well aware of 

 the fact from personal observation. It is astonishing, nevertheless, that so 

 little has been said about the morning glows, when so much has been said 

 about those in the evening. Is it the retiring modesty of early risers that 

 accounts for this ? The phenomena in the morning have, of course, been 

 reversed as to the order of their appearance. But Dr. Taylor says they 

 have been even more brilliant than those in the evening [Australasian, 22nd 

 March). Sometimes there has been the pre-glow alone ; at other times, 

 when the stria have been visible and confused by clouds, there has been a 

 display corresponding to the earlier one at night. The occurrence of two 

 glows — one, the earlier, on the under surface of clouds ; the other well 

 behind them, somewhat later and apparently very high, in fact altogether 

 above the region of clouds — may have escaped general observation ; but 

 close observers are unanimous about it (Hazen, "Am. J. Science;" Matthieu 

 Williams ; F.A.E.E., " Nature "), and I have myself distinctly and repeatedly 

 seen it. Some correspondents of " Nature " affirm, indeed, that a second 

 after-glow has occasionally been observed. 



Now, in addition to the general phenomena just described, there have 

 been locally seen others of even more astonishing character. I refer to 

 unusual colours of the sun and moon. It does not, of course, follow, 

 because these happen at about the same time as the brilliant glows in the 

 sky, that they therefore owe their origin to the same general cause ; but 

 those best competent to form an opinion on the subject think they do. 

 Blue and green suns were seen in India and Ceylon for five weeks after 

 27th August (A. C. Eanyard, " Knowledge "), particularly about 9th and 

 24th September (Langley, " Sci. Am."), also in the West Indies at Para- 

 mamibo, and on the Gold Coast, and on 24th September at London 

 (F.A.E.E., " Nature "). A blue moon was seen in England early in Decem- 

 ber (Taylor), and during the same month it was at times of metallic-green 

 colour. At Soporo (Japan) both sun and moon for some days in the 

 middle of October were blood red in colour. A green sun was also seen at 



