259 
excess in the motion of its perihelion to the action of a 
disturbing body circulating round the sun within the orbit 
of Mercury ; and from a discussion of the probable mass of 
the disturbing body he concluded that it could not be con- 
centrated in a single planet, and that it consisted of a ring 
of small bodies similar to that which is known to exist 
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter ; and it is remarkable 
that the mean distance, which he seemed to regard as the 
most probable, is precisely that which the Author has found 
for the ring of nebulous matter whose existence he has 
assumed to account for the phenomena described in his 
paper. This unexpected and unlooked for agreement between 
results arrived at from considerations and by methods so 
totally different, seems to establish the existence of this ring 
iVith quite as much certainty as the results of the profound 
researches of Adams and Leverrier established the existence 
of Neptune before that planet had been actually seen. This 
ring, however, owing to its proximity to the sun, may never 
be seen, and, like the dark companions of Procyon and 
Sirius, it may only be known to us through its action on the 
other bodies of the system of which it forms a part Should 
future researches place its existence beyond doubt, this will, 
it is believed, be the first instance in which the conclusions 
of physical astronomy have been confirmed by the results of 
an investigation of magnetical and meteorological phenomena. 
Whether, however, the hypothesis which the Author has 
ventured to put forward be accepted or not, it is now very 
evident that observations of solar phenomena merit a much 
larger share of attention than has ever yet been devoted to 
them. It has long been suspected that the same causes 
which produce the spots on the sun’s disc must in some way 
have an important influence on the phenomena of our own 
atmosphere. The facts now given convert this suspicion 
into a certainty ; and it is perhaps not too much to say that 
meteorology can never take rank as a true science while our 
