^66 Prof. Hall on the Extraordinary Darkness observed in 
meres peeled and pickled, pepo and melo pickled together, (1. iii, 
c. 4.-6.). From all this it is clear, that cucurhUa was 
the pumpkin, and that was the cucumber : it is also plain, 
that TviTcm, pepo the melon, but melo^ remains unde- 
termined. <It has been suspected to be the waterTm.elon, but 
iGralen says it is less watery than the 
Aet. IX.-— O/z the Extraordinary Darkness that was observed 
in some parts of the United States and Ccmada^ in the month 
of November 1819. By Fkederice: Hall, Professor of 
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Middlebury Col- 
lege, Vermont 
-I- HIS phenomenon first attracted my attention on the morning 
of the 9th of November 1819. I rose at a quarter before se\en, 
and found it much darker than it ordinarily is in the evening at 
the time of full moon. It snowed fast for about an hour ; this 
was succeeded by a moderate rain, which continued most of the 
day. Being occupied, I took no farther notice of the uncom- 
mon darkness till about nine o'clock. At this time, the obscu- 
rity, instead of diminishing, had considerably increased. The 
thermometer stood at 64^ A strong, steady, but not violent 
wind, blew from the south. 
The darkness was so great, that a person, when sitting by a 
window, could not see to read a book, in small type, without 
serious inconvenience. Several of the students in the college 
studied the whole day by candle-light. A number of the me- 
chanics in this village were unable to carry on their work with- 
out the assistance of lamps. 
The sky exhibited a pale yellowish-white aspect, which, in 
some degree, resembled the evening twilight a few moments be- 
fore it disappears. Indeed we had little else but twilight througji 
the day ; and such, too, as takes place when the sun is five or 
six degrees below the horizon. The colour of objects was very 
remarkable. Every thing I beheld wore a dull, smoky, melan- 
choly appearance. The paper, on which I was writing, had the 
* From the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^ vql. iv^ 
part, ii p. 3J>3. Cambridge 18?i. 
