Alabama state intelligencer., 1831-09-17
From the National Intelligenctr.

The Solar Phenomena. are obliged to a respectable friend in Alexandra for the following interesting observations upon the late extraordinary appearances connected with the Sun:
 ALEXANDRIA BOARDING SCHOOL,
 8th Month, goth 1881.
 Friends Gales 6 Seaton: In compliance with the suggestion in your paper receiVed to-day, send you the following views res, pecting the very unusual, il not unexamPleo appearance of the sun, observed tew oays since.
 To understand the phenomena alluded to- 1t will be necessary to make a few Preiil1iha- " observations During the great total e. ciipse of the sun that had recently taken place the moon had just past it's perigee. or that point in it's orbit nearest the earth, and conse- auently the combined action of the sun and moon upon the atmosphere produced great tide in the equatorial regions, and diminished the pressure off the air upon the whole ot the surface of the earth.s This diminution of pressure upon the surface of the water would occasion a great evaporation, when united with the temperature that accompanied It. For it is an nestablished fact, that the amount ot evaporation from an insulated surface ofwater dependsupon the elevation of oftemperature and diminution, of pressure, A vast quantity of vapor thus raised was very observable on the evening of the 18th instant, at considerable elevation, in the western part of the heavens, and continued to reflect very red light for a long time after the sun had set.
 The appearance of the heavens on the morn- ing the 18th did not observe: but about midday. the SUI shining through this body of vapor, bed silvery appearance, similar to that witch it wears when shining through a vapshing fog, and observed it to give an unu- -dally ghastly appearance to the countcnances of persons. Between three and four o'clock, the position ofthe sun with respect to this be- dy of vapor becoming changed, it assumed greenish blue appearance, precisely similar to that produced by the following experiments and which in my opinion was dependent up- on the same cause. Let screen, upon which the spectrum produced by the separation of the solar beam into its primitive colors by glass prism is thrown, be perforated so as to let all except the red ray fall upon double convex lens, and be converged to focus, the result will be representation of the sun of a greenish blue color, exactly such as it was ob- served to have at the time alluded to. The color is that resulting from the combination of all the primitive colors except the red, and is denominated in optics the ohhoaite color
 The same experiment may be performed more familfarly thus: Place red wafer up- on white wall, and look at it ntently with one eye for some time; then let the eye rest, without effort at seeing, upon the wall, and a spot, the size of the wafer, of greenish blue color, will be perceived. The explanation is, that the retina, through the action upon it by the red light from the wafer, becomes in sensible to the red ray in that part upon which the image of the wafer rested, and hence the color produced upon that part of the retina, will be the one resulting from the combination of the other six
 The greenish blue color of the sun, then, think, depended upon the red rays being re- fected by the intervening body of vapor, duced the observed appearance. This opn- ion was strengthened by one or two facts ob- served at the time. I passed the suns ray through prism, and while the yellow green, blue, indigo, and violet colors appeared with their proportionate brightness, the orange was considerably less distinct, and the red much less than the orange.
 Another corroborative fact was, that, as the sun descended below the body of vapor which was about fifteen or twenty minutes before its setting, the vapor reflected an in tensely red Gght-the light that passed, through it was therefore separate from the red, and would have produced the opposite, or greenish blue appearance.
 The spot that was observed, is by no means an unusual thing upon the suns disc. It was vi sible to the unprotected ye,merely in conse- quehce of the diminished brightness of the sun. By aid of telescope, a considerable number of spots were visible. In the sum- mer of 1916, spot was visible to the naked eye for eight or ten days in succession.
 1.-the above remarks are any way satisfac- tory to you, it will be a qualification
 Your sincere friend.
 BENJAMIN HALLOWELL..
 s evident that the air is partially supported by the combined attraction of the sun and moon pressure upon the earth be diminished. The greatest effort would not bo at the immediate time of conjunction, some days after.
 Liverhool a,td Manchester Rail Road The increase of profits on this road has been truly astonishing. In two weeksthe ret eipts on this railway amounted to R8, 500 sterling, or S37, ,777-beihg at the rate of S982, ,213 per annum. In one day the rewas transported 47e tons of merchandise, besides passengers. of the latter we learn that on particular days 5000 have been carried on the road. The stock is at about P200 for g100 per share the individuals being limited by the charter to 10per rcent. They now transport, (we believe with sixteen locomotive engines, and in the first year,) on the Liverpool and Manchester railway one-third of all the produce and mer- chandise passing between these two cities; and although at the commencement of rail roads of this character the expectations of stockholders were limited to passengers, there can be no doubt that on all general lines of commerce the largest profits will ultimately be derived from the transportation of produce and merchandise. Incur country the income from this source must be very large.
 A Sfra1ye Creature.--A gentleman trav- cling to Pittsburgh, from one of the neigh