Cumana is
above 10d north, yet still too low for the general limits of the
vortices; but from the same inclination of the axis (from 30d to 36d to
the surface), the meteors would pass far south of the limit, and might
even reach to the equator. The latitude of the _outer vortex ascending_
on November 12th, must have been near the line of greatest display, from
the position of the moon at the time. We thus see why the phenomenon was
limited to so small a fraction of the earth's surface; why these meteors
should be intermingled with nebulous patches stationary in the heavens
for an hour together, and why, notwithstanding these facts, they were
independent of the earth's rotation.

We have yet another objection to answer, viz.: the planetary velocity of
some of these bodies. Let us be understood. The velocity of a solid
aerolite is due to gravitation, and is planetary, on the other hand,
voluminous collections of cometary dust united by accident, and
remaining so by mere inertia, are borne passively on the ethereal
currents with _electric_ velocity, and probably never penetrate far,
even into the attenuated atmosphere, which may be supposed (from the
facts connected with the aurora) to extend far above the denser stratum
which refracts and reflects light, and from which the assigned limits of
our atmosphere have been derived.

It is generally considered that sporadic meteors are more numerous in
the summer and autumn than in the winter and spring, and we have,
likewise, in the tenth of August, a date which corresponds to many great
displays and meteoric showers, both in recent and remote times. This
would seem to vitiate our theory; for we cannot suppose that there are
two _central_ planes in the vortex intersecting the ecliptic in
longitude 320d and 50d. We must remember, however, that as these great
displays are accidental, and as the stratum composing the zodial light
is manifestly of sufficient thickness to envelope the whole orbit of the
earth, that it does not necessarily follow that the dense portions to
which meteoric showers are due, should be always confined to the central
plane of the vortex. And, besides, we have similar displays recorded in
other months, which invalidates the theory of a regularly-recurring
phenomenon. We shall, therefore, only aim at explaining why meteors are
generally more abundant in summer and autumn than in the opposite
seasons.

The axis of the solar vortex, considered as cylindrica