146 Proceedings, &C, for 1883. 



by Mr. Bosisto, who said that, about 700 miles from the Straits of 

 Sunda, the vessel on which he was a passenger passed through a 

 floating mass of pumice dust and ashes, with an occasional charred 

 tree ; similar circumstances had been reported by several ships. Mr. 

 Ellery said that a very unusual state of the upper atmosphere seemed 

 to exist in the northern as well as the southern hemisphere, for 

 news had been received that in India the sun seemed green at setting. 

 Mr. Norman Lockyer was said to have stated that these peculiar 

 sunsets were due to the volcanic eruption at the Straits of Sunda ; 

 but Mr. Ellery considered that that explanation would not account 

 for the facts. It would be strange if a volcano could alter the 

 atmosphere all over the world. He believed that these sunsets were 

 due principally to the presence of unusual quantities of vapour in 

 the upper atmosphere. 



