392 
REPORT— 1854. 
“ The 9th, from 9 h 21"' to 1 1 h 11two observers counted 37. The fol¬ 
lowing morning, from 2 h 45"' to 3 1 ' 15 m , one single observer saw 9. 
“ The 10th, the sky was covered with light clouds until 10 h 15 m ; and from 
8 h 55 m to ll h 46 m , two observers counted 67 falling stars. Between S k 3" 
and 3 h 45 m in the morning, they noted 4. 
“The 11th, from I0 h (i m to 10 h 53 m , they counted 19; but already the 
light of the moon prevented their seeing many. 
“Most part of the consecutive groups bail generally such directions that 
their trajectories cut through the constellations Andromeda, Cassiopeia and 
Perseus, but more especially the two latter." 
In one of the lute numbers of the Institute, M. Coulvier Gravier gave bis 
opinion that the meteoric appearance of August has a tendency to lessen from 
year to year. We have thought that, it would be interesting to verify this 
assertion, by the observations made since 1837, and which have been com¬ 
municated to our Academy. 
We have calculated, in the following table, the average number of meteors 
observed in an hour at Brussels, at Ghent, and at Panna. At Brussels anu 
at Parma, the observations have been made each year, under nearly idcntiea 
conditions and in the same parts of the heavens; we have only comprise m 
these means, those hours when the sky was clear, taking care to double t ie 
numbers of observations during the intervals when there was but one° 1 
server. At Client also the numbers are perfectly comparable among em 
selves, having been obtained each year by M. Duprez, who explored ol«” 
the same part of the sky that is comprised between the N.E. and the • ■ 
I hese numbers, obtained by one single observer, have been doubled m m 
a e to render them fit for comparison with those of other stations, c0 " 
/ ^ ^^^PJ'i'ieiple which we laid downf , that several observers place 
to see the different parts of the shy would count a double number. The 
eis thus doubled are marked with an asterisk. 
t Bulletin, vol. iii. p. 411. 
