0. C. Farrington — Times of Fall of Meteorites. 211 



Art. XV. — Times of Fall of Meteorites; by O. C. 

 Farrington. 



The times of fall of meteorites may be studied with reference 

 to the year,- month, day and hour. The yearly falls should 

 give evidence as to the frequency of the occurrence and exhibit 

 periods if any occur. The falls by months should show the 

 relation of meteorites to well-established star showers and the 

 portion of the earth's orbit where meteorites are most fre- 

 quently encountered. The falls by days should exhibit perio- 

 dicity if any exists and variation in the uniformity of supply. 

 Finally, the hours of fall should give the direction of move- 

 ment of meteorites. Since new falls occur yearly, data for 

 study of these points are obviously constantly on the increase. 

 It is desirable, however, to make comparisons at intervals in 

 order that any changes may be discerned. At the present 

 time the admirable catalogues of Wulfing* and others afford 

 excellent means for the collection of such data. From these 

 catalogues, with such additions and corrections as could be 

 made from other sources, the writer has obtained record of 

 350 well authenticated meteorite falls of which the year and 

 month are known, 327 of which the day is known, and 268 

 of which the time of day is known. In this number it has 

 been sought not to include finds referred by residents of a 

 locality to meteors which they had seen a year or more before, 

 since the residents of most localities can, on the occasion of a 

 meteorite find, recall a large meteor seen in that locality at 

 some previous time. To connect this, however, without fur- 

 ther reason with the meteorite found seems an unreliable 

 method of procedure. 



Considering the falls by years, it is well known that previous 

 to the nineteenth century little reliable record of meteorite 

 falls is available. Single falls are known for the years 1492, 

 1668, 1715, 1723, 1751, 1766, 1773, 1785, 1787, i790, 1794, 

 1795 and 1796, and two falls each for the years 1753, 1768 and 

 1798. Also for the early part of the nineteenth century the 

 record is not very complete, since during that period the possi- 

 bility of meteorite falls was yet much doubted. However, the 

 record may as well begin with 1800. From that year to the 

 present, 331 falls may be accepted as well authenticated as to 

 their month and vear. During this period eleven years show 

 no falls whatever. These years are— 1800, 1801, 1809, 1816, 

 1817, 1832, 1839, 1888, 1906, 1908, and 1909. Of these the 

 years of the present decade will probably have falls to their 



* Die Meteoriten in Sammlungen, Tubingen, 1897. 



