21^ LUMINOUS METEOR OBSERVED AT ©ENErA, 



differ from those of other birds ; or, that atmospheric air 



unnecessary to the life of dormant animals. The extraor-^ 



dinary suspension of most of the living functions of aui- 



mals of this class is a subject of t?ieat physiological im-» 



portance aiid curiosity ; and deserves to be more fully in-^ 



No unu?ual vestigated. But the claim of the swallow to an unusual 



structure of structure of the or"ans of respiration is completely over-* 



the organs of , . i ,- • ,. , • . it. •■ 



re^pr'atioii in turned by the dissections or the celebrated John Hunter, 



swallows. Ill the alleged cases of the submersion of swallows we must 



makeallowance for thecredulity, or inaccuracy, ofobservers ; 

 9nd I think it would not be difficult to refer almost all 

 sucn alleged facts to one or other of these heads. 



Liverpool. THOMAS STEWART TRAILL. 



xin. 



/iccount of the Appearmce of a Luminous Meteor'- by Pro- 

 fessor PiCTET*. 



Luminous me- ii- HE I5th of this month, about half after eight in the even? 



teorseenat jj^g, alominous meteor was seen at Geneva, in theN.I^.W. 

 veneva. ^ . 



part of the >ky, which was pretty clear where the meteor ap-* 



peared, though there were clouds in other parts, and the 

 phenomenon itself, toward the end of its appearance, was ob-r 

 scared by a cloud. The appearance was so sudden, that 

 those of the spectators, who were looking another way, at 

 the first moment supposed the light it gave, which was suflfi- 

 ciehtly vivid to cause a shadow, though it was sf-ll twilight, 

 to be the effect of a flash of lightning. We have endea- 

 VotJred to collect all the particulars respecting the circum- 

 . stances of the phenomenon, that we could obtain from eye- 

 witnesses of it. Among these may be distinguished five 

 students Of the academy, of the faculty of sciences, who 

 hf»{)pehed to be walking together, and not only saw, but 

 nrifeiUe their observations on this phenoinenon, which they 

 afterward committed to writing. These, except the noise, 

 which was heard only by them, agree with all those, that 

 have been communicated to us by others with less precision. 

 The following are their words. 



* Bibliotheque Britannique, for Mav, 1811, p. 105, 



«^Th^ 



