58 
NATURE NOTES 
The conclusion to which scientific men arrived along time since in their search 
after the truth (loving it as they do for its own sake), that meteorites can and do 
fall upon the earth, is incontrovertible, and almost every year adds weight to the 
evidence demonstrating it. 
St. Paul's Day, 1903. An Observer of Nature. 
, Mr. Hastie, in essaying to speak upon comets and meteors, appears to be 
singularly unfortunate in making flagrant errors in almost every sentence. 
He says that a dense shower of shooting stars occurred on November 27, 1872, 
but that “ they had not been seen until the comet had failed to perform his 
accustomed journey.” But there were brilliant and abundant showers of these 
meteors in 1798 and 1832. Your correspondent further says that “a comet’s 
tail is invariably turned exactly in an opposite direction from the sun.” But the 
tails of comets are pretty often not turned precisely away from the sun — in fact, 
tails have been observed which were directed towards the sun ! He further says 
that “ we only see shooting stars at night. If we could see them in the day 
time we should certainly see them with tails.” But meteors are pretty often 
seen in full sunshine ! I may just mention a few recent dates of such observations: 
January 9, May 31, September 2, 1900; January 6, 1901 ; and April 10 and 
June 28, 1902. 
Mr. Hastie’s statement that “meteors are always luminous but invisible on 
account of their smallness,” is also quite erroneous. It is perfectly evident that 
Mr. Hastie is unacquainted with even the rudiments of meteoric and cometary 
astronomy ! 
The Meteor of January 14. — I am quite incapable cf taking a part in 
the discussion on the origin of meteorites ; but, on one theory at least, meteors 
are probably their near relations. A bright meteor was seen from more than one 
part of England about 7.7 p.m. on January 14. An observer near Chesterfield, 
Derbyshire, saw it to the south of him. I myself, about two miles south-east 
from Maidstone (and so about two degrees south of Chesterfield) saw it between 
7 and 7.15 p.m. to the north of me. I have not heard of its being seen by any 
one else in this district, or further south ; but from the identity of the time, and 
of the apparent course of the meteor, I do not doubt that the same object was 
seen in Derbyshire and in Kent. It has been thought that it appeared over the 
North Sea, off Yarmouth, and continued its bright course as far as North 
Oxfordshire. 
Otharn Parsonage, Maidstone. F. M. Millard. 
A True Picture. — “ On one of the lower of the branches, but high enough 
to be beyond arm’s reach, or even cane’s reach, in the crook of the bough, crouched, 
making ready to spring, a big black cat, the tip of his tail twitching with con- 
tained excitement, his yellow eyes fixed murderously on the branch next above, 
where, in the agitation of supreme distress, a chaffinch — a little grey hen chaffinch — 
was hopping backwards and forwards, sometimes rising a few inches into the air, 
but always returning to the branch, and uttering a succession of terrified, agonised, 
despairing tw'eets. 
“ It was a hateful thing to see. It was the genius of cruelty made manifest in 
a single intense tableau. ‘ Why doesn’t the bird fly away ? ’ Susanna painfully 
questioned. She was pale and her lips were strained : she looked sick and 
hopeless. ‘ Is she fascinated ? The cat will surely get her.’ 
“ ‘ No — her nest must be somewhere there — she is guarding her nestlings,’ 
said Anthony. 
“Then he raised his slick menacingly, and in tones cf stern command, 
addressed the cat. 
“ ‘ Patapouf ! I am ashamed of you. Come down — come down from there — 
come down directly.’ And he emphasised each staccato summons by a sharp rap 
cfhis stick against the highest point of the tree that he could reach. 
“The cat turned his head, to look — and the spell was broken. His attitude 
relaxed. Anthony put his hands on the tree, and made as if to climb it. The 
Cat gave a resigned shrug of the shoulders, and came scrambling down. Next 
instant (if you please), unabashed, tail erect, back arched, he was rubbing his 
