receding from the solar system into the boundless regions of space. On the evening of the 7th, however, about nine o'clock, it appeared about 26° west of the true north, and about 16° above the horizon, having ascended towards the pole star more than half a degree a day, and receded nearly as much from Capella towards the west; so that by referring its place to a celestial globe, it was found about 2° from the three small stars below the left shoulder of the constellation Lynx. The appearance at Paris about the 6th seems to have been very brilliant, as the French astronomers considered its nucleus, at that time, better defined than that of any former comet. On the 9th of July, only six days after it was first seen, the comet had passed over 90 degrees of its orbit from the point of the perihelion, and was then twice the distance of that point from the Sun, and its heliocentric longitude at that time near the beginning of Aries, and its latitude, as seen from the Sun, nearly at its maximum. About this time its telescopic appearance became very irregular; as it sometimes appeared equal to Saturn in magnitude, and at others not larger than a small star. This comet continued visible through a telescope of ordinary power till about the 26th instant, at which time the following elements were published :— Perihelion distance..... 0.36247 Comets present some of the most interesting phenomena in astronomy: they are a class of celestial bodies which appear at very irregular times. They exhibit no visible or well defined disk, but shine with a pale and cloudy, light, accompanied with a tail or train turned from the Sun. They are found in every part of the heavens, moving in all directions. When examined through a good telescope, a comet may be said to resemble a mass of aqueous vapours, encircling an opaque nucleus of different degrees of darkness in different comets, though sometimes no nucleus can be seen. As the comet advances towards the Sun, its faint and nebulous light becomes more brilliant, and its luminous train gradually increases in length. When it reaches its perihelion, the intensity of its light, and the length of its tail, reach their maximum, and sometimes it shines with all the splendour of the planet Venus. During its passage from the perihelion, it is shorn of its splendour, it gradually resumes its nebulous appearance, and its tail decreases in magnitude, till it reaches such a distance from the earth, that the atte nuated light of the Sun, which it reflects, ceases to reach the eye. Traversing, unseen by man, the remote portion of its orbit, the comet wheels its ethereal course far beyond the limits of the solar system. What region it there visits, or upon what destination it is sent, we are wholly ignorant. After a lapse of years, we perceive it again returning to our system, and tracing a portion of the same orbit round the Sun which it had formerly described. There are three comets which have been much celebrated, viz. those which appeared in 1680, 1744, and 1759. The comet of 1680 was remarkable for its near approach to the Sun; so near, that in its perihelion it was not above a third part of the diameter of that luminary from the surface thereof. Its great heat in that position was computed to be 2000 times hotter than iron at its white heat; of course, it must have been entirely dissipated, if it had been any other than a fixed and solid body. Dr. Halley, who saw the comet which appeared in 1682, says, "that there are many things which make me believe, that the comet which Apian saw in the year 1531, was the same with that which Kepler and Longimontanus more accurately described in the year 1607, and which I myself have seen return, and observed in 1682. All the elements agree, and nothing seems to contradict this opinion, except the inequality of the periodic revolutions; which inequality is not so great, but that it may be owing to physical causes." Dr. Halley suspected that the comet in 1680 was the same that appeared in 1106, 531, and also in the year 44 before the Christian era. He also conjectured, that the comet observed by Apian in 1532 was the same as that observed by Hevelius in 1661; if so, its period was 129 years, and it ought to have returned in 1789; but it did not appear, though astronomers here, and on the Continent, were watching its approach with great anxiety. From the beginning of our era to this time, it is probable, according to the best accounts, that there have appeared 500 comets. Before that time, above 100 others are mentioned in history; but, perhaps, half of these, had they been accurately observed, would not have proved comets. When, however, we consider that many others may not have appeared, from being too near the Sun; from appearing in Moon light; from being in the other hemisphere; from being too small to be perceived; or which may not have been recorded; it is reasonable to suppose that the whole number is much greater. It is, on the other hand, very likely, that of the comets that have been recorded as seen, the same may have appeared several times, and therefore the number may be less than is stated. Remarkable comets appeared in the year 1807, 1808, 1811, and 1821; of these we may hereafter give accounts. One of the best catalogues of Comets extant will be found in Rees' Cyclopedia; it was the compilation and labour of Mr. Stephen Lee, Secretary to the Royal Society of London, a gentleman eminently distinguished by his knowledge of astronomy, and who has possessed from his childhood a peculiar tact for observation. We hope, therefore, some day to see his talents regularly employed in some practical branch of astronomy. Those who desire to pursue the subject of Comets, may consult Vince's, La Lande's, and other works on Astronomy; and also an extraordinary paper on Comets, by La Place. July 4. St. Bertha. St. Finbar. St. Uldric. The following are the ceremonies of this day, preserved in Barnabe Googe's translation of Naogeorgus: St. Huldryche, or Ulric. Wheresoeuer Huldryche hath his place, the people there brings in FLORA. The Evening Primrose Oenothera brennis shows its yellow flowers opening of an evening, and continues blowing all the rest of the Summer. The Cockle Agrostemma Githago now flowers among the Corn, Wheat and Barley in particular. Botanists who desire to preserve the leaves and boughs of trees in their hortus siccus, as examples of the character of their spray, &c. should collect them by this time, before the heat of the Dog Days, and the decline of the year, makes them yellow; as, if dried before the showers of St. Swithin begin, leaves will often retain their green colour. The character of trees, however, should be studied four times a year. In Winter, when the forms of the ramification can be seen in the naked boughs; in Spring, when in blossom; in Summer, when the foliage is matured; and in Autumnal decay, when the peculiar mellowness and variety of tints is very striking. Most writers of taste have noticed the characters of trees. Description of Trees, from Spenser. And forth they passe with pleasure forward led, The carver Holme, the Maple sildom inward sound. The above verses seem taken from Virgil: indeed, most of the great Poets have had some descriptive lines about Trees. Quid majora sequar? salices, humilesque genistae, We observed that this was a good time of year to pursue researches into the respective beauties of Trees. Virgil reminds us of the localities of certain beautiful Trees :: qur As we shall not again resume the subject of the peculiarities and uses of trees, which the poets have so much commented on, we now subjoin the following: Trees, from Virgil's Georgics. Principio arboribus varia est natura creandis. Ut cerasis, ulmisque: etiam Parnassia laurus Parva sub ingenti matris se subjicit umbra.-Geor. ii. Ovid thus describes the Trees of the grove miraculously raised by the Song of Orpheus, in Metamor. lib. x. ii.— Collis erat, collemque super planissima Campi Area; quam viridem faciebant graminis herbae. Umbra loco deerat. Qua postquam parte resedit Diis genitus vates, et fila sonantia movit; Umbra loco venit. Non Chaonis abfuit arbos, Non nemus Heliadum, non frondibus esculus altis. Nec tiliae molles, nec fagus, et inuuba laurus. Et coryli fragiles, et fraxinus utilis hastis, Enodisque abies, curvataque glandibus ilex, Et platanus genialis, acerque coloribus impar, Amnicolaeque simul salices, et aquatica lotos, Perpetuoque virens buxus, tenuesque myricae, Et bicolor myrtus, et baccis caerula tinus: Vos quoque flexipedes hederae venistis, et una Pampineae vites, et amictae vitibus ulmi: Ornique, et piceae, pomoque onerata rubenti Arbutus, et lentae victoris praemia palmae: Et succincta comas, hirsutaque vertice pinus; Grata Deûm matri. Siquidem Cybeleïus Attis Exuit hac hominem, truncoque induruit illo. Adfuit huic turbae metas imitata cupressus. And Tasso, in Canto ii. 75: L'un l'altro essorta, che le piante atterri, |