The New York herald., 1872-08-11
New York should not be restricted to horse
power in the service of her severely taxed street
railways.


railways.
The Great Stream OF August Metcors-
Cometic and Auroral Phenomsna.
We submit to our readers this morning. in
another part of this paper, very satis-
factory and consoling article on Planta-
mour's awful comet, giving the reasons why it
is not going to reduce this little planet OF ours
to cloud of gas or knock it into hundred
thousand fragments. From the perusal of
this paper the thoughtful political reader
will be apt to rise ''lilse giant refreshed with
new wine," and with renewed zeal in the
cause of the administration, or in that COM
prehensive opposition idea of anything to
beat Grant" To our readers, however, we
commend the paper referred to as particularly
interesting and instructive at this season of
comets, meteors and auroral displays.
According to all astronomic authority our
planet has now entered the immense stream of
meteors which lie in its orbit during the
present month of the year. These brilliant
and mysterious bodies are most numerous
from the 10th to the 18th of August, and, no
doubt, our scientific observers will make the
most Of them. It is very generally believed
that this months meteoric stream describes
very large elliptic orbit around the sun, reach
ing far beyond the path of Neptune. We may
Judge of the enormous number of these "fall-
ing stars from the fact that the earth, NOV
ing at the rate of nearly seventy thousand
miles per hour is at least seven days in passing
wholly through the dazzling ring which
must therefore, be more than eleven millions
of miles in thickness.
The most eminent astronomers assure us
that the whole Of the solar domain is alive with
meteors There are on record over sixty re-
markable displays of this August group, one Of
the earliest bearing the date of 811 A. D. In
France the popular tradition of the 'fery
tears Of st. Lawrence" on his fete day, August
10, embodies the scientific observation of the
periodical return Of these meteors. The most
recent researches show that they recur with
perfect regularity, and are visible over nearly
the entire known surface of the earth. Hum
boldt Herschel and others have assigned them
a cosmic origin, and the last named physicist
regarded them as establishing the existence of
a kind of atmosphere ''higher up than the
aerial atmosphere, lighter and, so to speak,
more igneous than our own"
One of the most surprising and startling dis
coveries of modern times has been made re-
garding the association Of meteor systems with
comets. So far as science now knows the
meteoric and the cometic body are totally
dissimilar, one being solid, the other
vaporous in it's nature. It has usually
been supposed that the November me-
and the richest through which our planet
passes; but this is an error. The November
stream is associated with comet of little dis
tinction and so insignificant that it has no
tail. On the contrary, the August system is
connected with q comet Of distinction-one
whose approach has been the subject of
curious speculation by millions, and which, as
one of the most trustworthy Of living astrono-
mers tells us, but that the hour of its arrival is
uncertain, it is far from unlikely that even
men of science would have looked forward
with some dread to the possible effects Of its
coming w nat tQe euectS OF the e;lrtn De1ng
brought into direct collision with a large
comet, and whether it would suffer injury
(supposing that its matter is merely vaporous),
is long-vexed question which may possibly
soon be settled in the stellar regions of space.
If we are to judge of the importance of the
August meteors by the cometic nucleus said to
accompany them they certainly deserve careful
scientific observation. It is possible the bril-
liant auroras of Thursday night, which, as the
Signal Service reports show, flashed in un-
broken lines and splendor from Lake Michigan
to Quebec, and southwark as far as Washing
ton, may be proved to have some direct con-
nection with the earth's entrance on the great
belt of shooting stars. We are glad to learn
that our national scientific bureaus are to make
special observations Of these wonderful phe-
nomena. We shall look with interest for some
results.
The Milk supply Of the City.
Our milk is bad 1t is not alone poor we