272 ©. U. Shepard on a Shooting Meteor from S. Carolina. 
premises of houses. We then took pains to find the individual 
to whom had been given the principal portion of the fibrous mat- 
_ ter obtained from the fence; but had the mortification to discover, 
that having worn it in a paper wrapper for several days in his-vest 
pocket, he had finally mislaid or lost it. Thus little more than 
a microscopically visible specimen of the shooting star remained 
for study and examination. Its entire weight is probably less 
than one-tenth of a grain. When viewed by a single pocket- 
lens, it seems to be a confused aggregate of short clippings of 
the finest black hair, varying in length from one-tenth to one- 
third of an inch. Each portion is straight or only slightly 
eurved. Except in color, they remind one most of that variety 
of pumice stone from the Sandwich Islands, known as volcanic 
hair, or as “Pele’s hair.” They do not seem very prone to break 
in handli ng, and shally elastic. 
They have been examined under compound microscopes of 
high ene by earns 4 oer accustomed to the use of this in 
strument; poe hitherto no ye has ventured to suggest a vile 
tionship in ol ee eee to any known form of organic or in- 
organic ie 304, he following description is from a note, hande 
to me by my friend, Dr. F. W. Porcher of Charleston. ‘“‘ Black 
elongated bodies, perfectly opaque, round and solid; amorphous, 
not properly smooth, _ often furnished with warty dots 
or SeceE rather 
fig. 1, I have ae ‘Dr. Porcher’s drawings of a few of 
the Pavan about four times, as | presented ore grapath to him, 
through a one-third inch object- glass. A few of the bodies are 
subspinose, and one or two decidedly rer tvals others are can- 
cellated, anil seem capable of spaeei into smaller fibres. The 
surfaces are not always perfectly ro | 
could spare only a few of hen fas a chemical trial. Th 
be ntroduced ee = — of test-tube cep 3 weil 
measure their aa Pa with the eS Ho sar of being ren- 
oT mid there transparent, as if about one-half of the black 
