Literary Notices. 385 



western sky was spread over with a light that often broke into 

 coruscations of white and red. There were no clouds, and a 

 freezing gale, which had been blowing all the day from the 

 north-east, was now subsiding. The thermometer marked 23° 

 on the grass, and the barometer, corrected to sea level, stood 

 at 30" 25 inches." 



A correspondent of the Times, dating " Burton-on-Trent, 

 March 20/'' and giving the initials ff E. B. K.," says : — 



" A very fine aurora was visible here this evening. At 

 about 7.50 p.m., the sky being then perfectly clear and free from 

 cloud or mist, a brilliant arch of white light was formed, span- 

 ning the whole northern horizon, and extending to an altitude 

 of about 45°. This altitude rapidly increased to about 60° in 

 a quarter of an hour. The western extremity, which was the 

 brightest portion of the arch, tapered to a blunt point, ending 

 abruptly about 10° above the horizon. At 8.20 a luminous 

 mist appeared along the northern horizon. At 8.40 the arch 

 had quite disappeared. 



" At 8.45, anarch as perfect and as brilliant as the first, 

 formed at a much lower elevation, not more than 20°. The 

 sky included in the arch was then quite black. I did not 

 observe any streaks to be thrown out till 9.25, when most 

 brilliant streamers of white light, tinged on the west side with 

 a faint roseate hue, shot up to a considerable altitude, forming 

 a most imposing sight. Clouds then coming over, rapidly 

 obscured the phenomena." 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



A Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art, comprising the 

 Definitions and Derivations of the Scientific Terms in general use ; 

 together with the History and Description of nearly every branch 

 of Human Knowledge. Edited by W. F. Brands, D.C.L., F.R.S., 

 L. and E. of Her Majesty's Mint ; and the Rev. George W. Cox, 

 MA., Late Scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, assisted by Gentle- 

 men of eminent Scientific and Literary Acquirements. (Longmans.) 

 Parts I. and II. — We are very glad to see a new and enlarged 

 edition of Brandos Dictionary, which bids fair to prove a very 

 valuable and welcome work. Most of the explanatory articles 

 appear to us very well written, but one of the gentlemen who does 

 the physiology is by no means up to the mark. The whole of the 

 explanation given under the title " Animal," is more or less open 

 to objection, and some of it decidedly wrong, as when the writer, 

 apparently knowing nothing of amoebae, tapeworms, or gregarina, 

 states that " animals are always provided with a mouth, and an 

 internal cavity, or canal." Again, it is not correct to say that 



