294 METEOROLOGICAL REPORT, 1866, 



number seen. Prom nine to eleven o'clock only twenty-five 

 meteors were noted : not more than would be seen on any ordi- 

 nary November nigbt. But when, at about the latter hour, 

 the constellation Leo came above the horizon, it was evident 

 that a "celestial sight of no ordinary character was to be ex- 

 pected. First at the rate of about one a minute, afterwards at 

 the rate of about four or five, the fiery shafts silently flew in all 

 directions from their common point of departure. Between eleven 

 and twelve o'clock one hundred and sixty-eight meteors appeared. 

 The average number of meteors up to midnight did not exceed 

 three a minute. By half-past twelve this average rose to seventy, 

 or more than one a second. Then there was a lull for a few 

 minutes, and after that the numbers steadily increased, till the 

 average stood at one hundred and eighteen. Then clouds came 

 on and threatened to put an end to the scene ; but they cleared 

 off after a few minutes, and at about a quarter past one the 

 maximum of the shower was reached ; the average at that time 

 being one hundred and twenty-two meteors per minute. From 

 this time the numbers rapidly declined, till, after a few spurts 

 of greater numbers, this average fell to seventy a minute at half- 

 past one, fifty a minute at a quarter to two, and twenty a minute 

 at two o'clock. At half-past two again a slight spurt increased 

 the average for a minute or two, and at three o'clock it stood at 

 ten. Still it decreased until between four and five a.m., when 

 only forty meteors in all were counted. The whole number 

 registered at Greenwich throughout the entire display amounted 

 to eight thousand four hundred and eighty-five. Allowing for 

 cloudy moments we may say, that the total number of meteors 

 passing over the sky at Greenwich, from nine p.m. on the 13th, 

 to five a.m. on the 14th, was about ten thousand." 



It may be as well to add that some very eminent authorities 

 state, that we may expect the real maximum of the thirty-three 

 year period in the November of this year 1867. 



The Bev. B. E. Hooppcll, M.A., of the Marine School, South 

 Shields, has furnished to the Club the following additional re- 

 marks on this subject : — 



Immediately after the great shower of meteors a remarkable 



