Astronomy. 423 
prenty since 1837, now for Bonny pant pa years. When I came 
som. 
avers here, it was replied, that there were a few, but no 
could then tell me where there, was one of their dams in this 
mee uoThoed, 
And yet by the year 1850, their dams were to be found in nearly 
all the streams in the county, that were not so small as to become 
dry during our long summers, or two large for the operations 
of the beaver. They continued to increase, greatly to the injury 
of most of our low land, and to t ope ance of its cage pecs 
In 1858 or 1859, a rofessional trapper from Wisconsin, if I a 
not mistaken, caught seven oerere or eighty beavers in this wie 
in less than a mo ti 
They are pa increasing in this county, as I have no doubt they 
are in all the ties of central Mississippi and Alabama, and 
sea datitely chrosahiat both States. I have no doubt that, in 
inds county, they are more than half as numerous as the popula- 
tion. I now write in the Court House of the county, and they 
can be found in sight of it, and at a less distance than one mile. 
Ill. Astronomy. 
ectrum of the Aurora; by Evwarp I Hoxpen, - Lieut. 
obtained; then Maik a wide slit it was turned on the aurora, a 
the foltocin sketch ogy which was carefully verified, so that it 
Tepresents exactly what I 
Blue. 
M > 
The —— MN is what I conceived to be the length of the 
Spectrum given by my instrument under usual conditions. The 
Violet (extreme) rays seemed cut off, and I saw 1° a broad and 
bright red band CR), 2a 24 a black space equal in width to it (B), 8 
4 green and bright band (G) nearly as wide, then a faint 
of » ace Hight, om = bright line in the blue (1), ‘hen a bright ie 
gib] t whose color could not be ee nce owe (2). 
The. relative Serie for my instrument are kept in the drawing. 
