The San Francisco call. [volume], September 20, 1896, Page 24, Image 24

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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24
Xb£-ComgL-lTiaLls_Coming and What May Be Expected if It Hits Us
A. recent telegraphic announcement from
one of tbe astronomical observatories situ
ated in the Southern Hemisphere tells of
the appearance of a large comet.
Ordinarily there is nothing startling in
such announcements. It is a matter of
every lay occurrence under the present
advanced state of astronomical science for
tbe observers to find a comet within the
field of view of their telescopes, and only
those of probable importance find mention
in the newspapers. Tbe one alluded to in
the dispatch mentioned is by some thought
to be the return of the great comet of
1880, whose giant tail measured at the time
of its last appearance over 150,000,000 miles
in length.
Because the ordinary observer fails to
perceive with the naked eye these wander*
ers of space, it must not be supposed that
their number is limited. The best astron
omers are agreed that the number of
comets is very great. Arago estimated
that there are at least 17.500.000 within the
orbit of Neptune. Lambert points out
where he thinks Arago neglected to in
vestigate, and places the number at over
500,000.000. Kepler says: "Comets are
scattered through the heavens with as
much profusion as the fishes in tbe sea."
From tbe beginning of tha Christian
era to the close of the present century
there is trustworthy record of about 1000,
of which we are fairly satisfied that prob
ably hal/ a dozen have returned. Proba
bly at least five have been seen to each
one recorded, so we may conclude that at
least 5000 have appeared during that time.
What has become of the immense number
which apparently visited our system but
once?
The theories put forward to account for
ti.e formation of comets are many. They
are all ingenious, but unproven. Cole, a
noted English observer, thinks it possible
that there are other emanations from the
sun and from the stars (which are other
sun=), besides that of light. If this be the
case the comets in their passage from one
system to the other may attract and col
lect the particles scattered in the immense
regions of space. This would account for
the very dense and extensive atmospheres
ooserved to surround most comets.
Professor Young of Dartmouth College
thinks that comets consist of matter
ejected from our sun and from other suns.
The North Pole and the Magnetic Pole Parted Company 1 2,000 Years A2O
It is a weil-known scientific fact that the
magnetic pole of the earth is not coinci
dent with the pole of revolution, but is
located about 70 degrees north latitude,
near King Will am- Land. The magnetic
poie is not a fixed point, but varies con
tinually, though slowly, pursuing a path
a^out the true pole, its shifting periods
estimated at 640 years.
One would naturally suppose that if the
axis of the earth since the beginning had
held a constant po-ition on inclination,
the two poles, that is— the magnetic
and the revolutionary poles — would
be coincident, especially so when
we remember that, as the magnetic
pole is constantly moving at an appreciable
ra:e, it should by this time certainly
have found its center of influence. If it is
assumed, as it is by eminent philosophers
if not by geologists, that at one time the
magnetic pole nas coincident with tbe
revolutionary pole (about 12,000 years
ago), then the solution is apparent, and
since the change of axis of the magnetic
pole is moving in a spiral, its center will
again eventually coincide with tbe present
revolutionary pole.
Astronomy has pointed out that tbe
axis of the earth is still -wobbling." In
fact, it is a very suspicious wobble — a
wobble within a wobble, if you please —
tbe greater wobble having a period of 428
day*. It is surmised, too, that the greater
wobbling motion is but an epicycle of a
still greater wobble, which will account
for the poor orientation of the pyramid of
Ghizen, as well as the fact t at the sun,
when in Cancer, at Athens, doe* not come
so far north by a degree as it did 2000
years ago.
Xh.s .cads to the statement asserted witb
confidence and defended with assiduity,
that the revolutionary axis of tbe earth is
shifted periodically. And if this be true
it is of hf utmost importance to scien
tist-, explaining many events which have
been too much in the dark. Colonel Fred
G. Piummer, formerly State Geologist of
Washington, has recently publ shed an
excellent treatis-e upon tbis tuuject, en
titled "The Last Chance of the Earth's
Axis." Mr. Plummer is ueserving of
The Queen Lily and the
Wheat Belong to One Tribe
QF THE many who admire the queen
lily now blooming in the park conserva
tory, few perhaps remember that it- mag
nificence is the outcome of a process of
change prolonged through countless anej,
during which environments favorable to
size and beauty were predominant, and
that each portion of its structure is trace
able to some corresponding portion,
foundation or possibility in the struciure
oi the unpretentious ancestor of the lily
family.
To tbe mind of the botanist who can
discern kindred traits in the most seem
ingly diverse species, and can trace th?
family tie between the giant ot the forest
and the scant h rbage of the mountain
peak, the lily tribe unfolds a marvelous
retrospect of evolutionary adjustment to
conditions. According to a noted au
thority the first flower boanical'y en
titled to be called a lily, though now ex
tinct, is fairly represented by the simple
marsh lily, the gagea depicted in the
illustration.
Many of the tribe blond with these
triple formations developments of their
own in the direction of growth, of beauty,
or ootb, while others lose some of the lily
traits, but, retaining the foundation, di
verge into a less ornamental form, just as
a modern storehouse may be constructed
from the ruined walls of a c»stle. Ol the
first class the Victoria lily is the climax
though it also numbers in its ranks such
exquisite developments as the asphodel,
the tulip an t the orchid. Conspicuous in
the second class is the grass tribe in its
thousand varieties, includiug the familiar
stalk of cultivated wheat.
The gap between the latter and the
night- blooming lily, resting its large
blossoms and leaves on the deep water
and sensitively c anqing its color witb
the hours of day, seems a wide one, but it
has been bridged over by several plants
that probably represent the chief stages of
transi ion.
The large species of white water lily, the
Egyptian lotos and the prickly leaved
eurgale of East India suggest the route of
On September 7, 1871, Professor Young
witnessed an extraordinary explosion on
tbe sun. Tbe expelled matter was seen
oy nim to ascend to a height of 200,000
miles above the sun's surface, traveling
with a velocity of 166,000 miles per second,
l'bis would give an initial velocity of over
JOO.OOO miles a second, and if there wus
iot any resisting medium in space would
je sufficient to carry the ejected matter
aeyond the sun's attraction. It is believed
;hat there is a resisting medium in space.
The use of the spectroscope has enabled
is to learn something of the material of
which comets are composed. Observa
tions with it, and the fact that meteoric
Six-Tailed Comet, J764.
showers are intimately associated with
cometary routes, lead to tne opinion that
comets are composed of a blazing nucleus
and a mass of separated matter, such as
metalliferous stones, clay dust and gas.
The nucleus gives out intense heat and
masses of burning gas which is luminous.
It is probable that comets shine with both
inherent and reflected light. That the
comet is constantly undergoing great
physical action is apparent to every care
ful observer. The appearance of the tail
is constantly changing. Apparent vibra
tions or coruscation begin at the head
and traverse tbe enormous length of the
much credit, for not only coilectine ana
collating the valuable information, but for
the fearless and original way in which he
presents the matter.
it is by the kindness of Mr. Plummer,
whose little book is protected by copy
right, that permission has been granted
The Call to introduce ib.6 facts and
theories advanced.
It is claimed that the shifting of the
axis, 'hat is, the revolutionary axis, will
explain tbe reason of the flood, the sinking
of continents, more especially Atlantis,
the presence of drift deposits, the bir;n of j
Niagara, the position of the magnetic
pole, t c frozen mammoth in Alaska, the
reinder in Europe and many of the
myths and traditions of all ancient
nations.
It has been stated as a fact by some
philosophers that upon several occasions
vast areas upon the eartu have been sud
denly changed, even in a single night,
from tropical and semi-tropical countries
into the bleak and bowling wildernesses
of a frigid zone. And this effect may
readily be accounted for by a shifting of
the axis, which movement controls the
different climates experienced with the
earth to a large extent.
In his book Mr. Plummer says:
The fact that the flora and fauna of the
earth are found in zone*, and that the fossils,
or former evidences of life, are not found In
zones coincident wltn our present lines of lati
tude, are enough to force tbe conclusion upon
any thinker that tne past has seen vast
changes of climate upon the earth. How, in
deed, may changes of climate occur so that
points of equal latitude will be affected
equally excepting by a chan«?e of the earth's
axis? As long as the earth revolves iv
Climates will be in z-^nes, and no theory can
explain how Ice sheets existed in Oh. o when
Siberia was not glaciated, or uhtf the reindeer
made his hou:e in Europe while t\ie mammoth
led upon the tropical vegetation at Alaska, ex
cepting on the theory that ihe zones, and con
s. quently the axis, were foimerly different.
Many other and even more famous au
thorities might be cited to the same effect,
and some selections from them are pre
sented, as follows:
We must imagine that the hills and valleys
divergence from the ancstral iily or
simo.e gagea to ihe exuberance acqu red
in the waters of the Snutli American
tropics. The trail of divergence from the
gagea to the ear of wheat has been more
definitely trace!. .tMrstcorae* thecommon
rush famiiy.whose smai. di;iny blossoms in
a trroup are sen when magi.itied to be the
true lily tye, though botanic-ally classed
as merely of the lily tribe. Another link
ia a marsh plant known as the wood
rush. As shown in the illustration, its
The Yellow Gagea.
small blossoms are in a loose cluster like
wild garlic, which, in spite of its insi nifi
cant flower and its strong individuality
among the floral host, is botantcally
classed as a true lily. Moreover, the wood
rush combines small brown-tinted flowers
like the common rush witb flat tuperinjr
leaves like the urass tribe. Tne glutinous
seed vessel a so gives an idea of the begin
n ngs of grain formation. Finally, botani
cal researches detect in the enocaulon, a
rather rare but interesting bosc plant, with
lancelike leaves and blossoms in a Close
tuft, a strong suggestion of the stalk oi
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1896.
tail in a few seconds. Perhaps some form
of electrical energy is present creating the
constant state of intense excitement.
The questions of greatest interest to the
majority of people are: Do comets exer
cise any influence upon tbe ear. h? Is
here any danger of a comet colliding with
the earth; and if so, what would be tbe
result?
A few comets have had their motions
sufficiently well observed and computed
to enaDle us to predict the length of time
equired by them to complete the tour of
their orbits. One of these, known as
Encke's, is a small affair of short period.
Another, known as Haliey's, is a large
Haliey's Comet, 1835,
one completing its orbital revolution in
about seventy-five years. Its first re
corded appearance occurred in A. 1). 1005,
and that year was marked by a great fam
ine in Europe. Its next appearance was
in 1080 when a terrible earthquake took
place. Its subsequent appearances, to
gether with the attendant abnormal earth
conditions, are as follows: 1155, cxc ssive
cold and great crop failures; 1230, inunda
tion of Germany; 1304, intense cold and
drought; 1380, awful pestilence; 1456, in
undation and earthquake; 1531, great
floods; 1607, intense cold and drought;
1682, floods and big earthquake; 1759,
about the present site of New York were cov
ered with noble trees and wltn a dense under
growth of species for the most part different
from those now living there, xnd that these
were the homes and feeding ground fof many
kinds of quadrupeds and birds which have
long since become extinct. The broad Diane
wnicn gently sloped
seaward irom the high
lands must have been
covered with a sub
tropical forest of giant
trees end tangled vines
teeming with animal
life. This state of things
doubtless continued
through many thou
sands of years, but ulti
mately a change came
over the fair face of
nature more complete
and terrible than we
have language to de
scribe. — Popu.ar Science
Monthly.
We see that the the
ory of a catastrophe
accompanying or caus
ing this change of cli
mate is advocated. This
delightful Climate was
not confined to the
present temperate or
tropical regions. It ex
tended to the very
shores of the Arctic Sea.
In Norm Greenland, at
Atam-Kordiuk, in lati
tude 79 degrees north,
at an elevation of more
than 1000 feet above
the sea, were found the
remains of beeches,
oaks, pines, pop ars,
maples, walnuts, mag
nolias, limes and vines.
T..e remains of similar
plants were found in
Spitzbergen, in latitude
78 degrees 56 minutes.
—American Antiquarian.
It is not ;o be pre
sumed the flora was
Outline Map of the Northern or Land Hemisphere Before the Change
of the Earth's Axis Took Place, Showing Portions of Lemuria
and Atlantis, as Drawn by Colonel Fred Plummer, Geologist.
carried into tne polar regions. It must have
be. n overwhelmed by the "great winter."
Wl.at caused the great winter? If astron
omy is to be telieved ihe sun has not
coo:e<i mater. al'.y since oak-, pines and pop
lars came to grace the earth. The fact that the
wheat, the sj Ike form being a final ste:>
in diver ence. It must be understood ih.-t
■acn small division of the ear of wheat
Is the transformed representative of what,
under different envi'Otituents, wou.d have
been one complete hly.
The process of change which endured
for cctintl- «s airea ran scarcely be called a
retroeres«ion, con si ierini the utility at
tained in the fi a: stave. But that su h a
type of flon.i b auty as the Lily, and surh
a type f.f ••tfibl- vegetation as the grain o
whea\ should he cradled on the s:mif
ancestral s'alk s evidence of the hidden
resources provided by nature for the
emergencies caused by environment
Rose O'Halloban.
JV'RING the past days a dark streak ex
tending in an east and west direction
miebt have been isceriied on the di<k ■ f
the sun i yen without the aid of magnify
ing power. It was h large ?roup fsmali
Minspots, and the peculiarities of the dis
turbance have especial interest now w. thin
two years of the period of comp;«ra;iv
so I :ir quietude, when the di«k will be un
si otted lor weeks and months in succes
sion. The number and >ize> o these phe
nomena have been decreasing since 1894,
and the solar cycle, which includes a max
imum and a minimum of disturbance
five and a naif ytnrs apart, will
not be completed until about the
fourth year of the next century,
when the spots may be expected to ap
pear again in gr.-at numberas in 1892-93. As
tbe cause of this eleven-year cycle is still
unknown and that oi the spots also some
what unsettled, an accumulation of de
tails as to the position, form and dura
tion of solar disturbance is always of
value in the study of solar physics. On
September 9, when three sni;ill groups
were distributed over the d sk, this group
appeared on the cast limb, thus showing
a stream of successive disturbances across
trora east to west. As it advanced it was
seen to be co posed of about ten small
black spots in a straight line cu
r-ously entwined with a curving
line of six or seven small spots,
all connected witb an encircling nenum
bral area, which in tbe foreshortened vie*v
seemed to be a gr>up of unusual length.
As it approached the central portion of
the disk, where dimensions are best seen,
it proved to b» more than 100,000 miles in
ieiiL'tli mid from twenty to thiriv in
Width, while the size of the spots was
I floods and earthquake; 1835, remarkably
variable weather and great earthquake in
E'j-vpt. We have vet to learn the story of
1910.
In ihe years 526, 1721, 1783, 1822, 1831
and 1834 jjreat remarkable dry fogs ex
tended oyer a large porion ot the earth
and these years were marked by the ap
pearance of large comets.
The second question may be answered
by the statement that already the eaith
has passed through the gaseous portion of
more than one comet, and it is believed by
good authority that she has passed through
the body of at least one comet within re
cent years. A certain short period comet,
known as Biela's, failed to appear at the
appointed time in 1872. Instead, there
was visible a very rich shower of meteors,
through which the earth passed Novem
ber 27 and 30. 1872. So certain were the
astronomers at this side of tbe globe that
the meteoric stream was Biela's comet dis
integrated that they telegraphed to tbe
observatory at Cape Town, in Africa, to
watch the skies for Biela's comet,
and sure enough the African ob
servers saw the fragments of the
comet receding from the earth. Did
the collision affect the earth? Let us see.
In October, 1871, the earth passed through
the gaseous envelope of Biela's comet, and
t enceforth the comet has not been seen
as a comet. It was broken up by its con
tact with the earth. But in October, 1871,
there occurred awful conflagrations in the
Northwestern States, devastating thou
sands of square miles of territory. The
testimony of the survivors of Minnesota
and elsewhere states that the flames would
su Idenly burst forth in the timber, ap
parently coming from the sky. The Chi
c a o fire occurred at that time also, where
solid granite buildings took fire and
burned as if of wood. Spectroscopic analy
sis tells us that the gaseous envelope of a
comet contains carburetted hydrogen. It
is a si tuple solution of the terrible confla
grations if it be recognized that a portion
of tbe gaseous envelope of Biela's cornel
became mixed with the earth's atmos
phere in October, 1871. The mixture forms
the most inflammable substance known.
Humboldt, whose reputation as a con
servative and able physicist stands pre
eminently hieh, emphatically states that
the earth passed through the tails ol
remains of the mammoth, a tropical animal,
are found so perfectly preserved has forced
upon th? scientific world the belief that a catas
trophe occurred at the time of their death.
"It is remarkable that nownere in the great
plains of Siberia do any traces of glacial action
appear to have been observed. Consequently
we find the great river deposits with their
mammalian remains, which tell of a mildei
climate than now obtains in those high lati
tudes, still ying undisturbed at the surface."—
Th Great Ice Age.
Ii they had not been frozen as soon as killed
THOSE SPOTS
ON THE SUN
from five to fifteen miles in diameter.
Tne entwined aspect it had at first was
m (iificd, as probably the spots farthest
from the s lar equator failed ;o Veep pace
vviih those nearest to that lifts. Its
nveniee position is 8 deg. north solar
latitude, and on account of its length
it will probably remain visible until
he 221 of this month unless the
disturbance dies out before then. Beitiß
The Woodrush,
so largely oin posed of a penumbral area,
it is less conspicuous ihan some smaller
group in which the umbra was large, but
it may be still seen with colored or
smoked glass by those who are possessed
of keen sight. On account of the inten
sity of sunligtu, noon is uot the best time
to take such an observation, the morninir
or afternoon hours beinj more favo-:>bL
for distinctness. Rose O'Halloran.
comets in 1819 nnd 1823. The face of the
globe exhibits many very peculiar pne
nomena, extremely puzzling to the ortho
dox geologist, who is unable to satisfac
torily account for the conditions by any
theory known to him. Tbe 'drift" is one
of ;hese. On the supposition that the
earth was struck by a comet of some size
and mass the phenomena is rationally
explainable.
The elements, i. c., the speed, direction
and shape ot orbit, of quite a number of
comets have been studied and vartinl suc
cess attained in computing the times of
their return. Yet, it has always been
found that something i.as interfered to
Donates Comet, JBSB.
negative the result. The one of 1532 was
said to have a period of 129 years. It did
return in 1661, but was absent in 1790. The
velocity of movement of a comet varies,
and we do not know exactly just when
and where tbe variation comes in. Th*
comet of 1472 had speed of over 3.000,000
miles in twenty-four hours. We are apt
to think that our fast express trains, mov
ing sixty miles an hour, are swift fliers,
yet nere was an enormous mass speedin?
through space at the velocity of over 2083
miles per minute.
As to the part played by comets In the
complex machinery of the universe we
„■:■ ■ . X i
putrefaction would have decomposed them,
and on the other hand this eternal frost could
not have previously prevailed in the place
where they died, for they could not have lived
la such a temperature. It was, therefore, at
the same instant when these animals perished
that the country they inhabited was rendered
glacial. These events j
must have been sud
den, instantaneous and
without gradation.—
Ccvier.
" The . most violent
convulsions of the solid
and liquid elements (of
tne earth) appear them
selves oniy the effect
due to a cause more
powerful than the mere
expansion."
It is admitted, then, j
by these authorities
that it was a catastro
phe which caused tbe
sudden change of cli
mate, and possibly it
was a change of the
axis ot rotation.
Much more in the
same vein might be
given, but the above
seems sufficient.
li, then, te axis of
the earth has under
gone a change there
must have oeen a
former < quator, and
if so where was it and
what evidence have
we that it existed?
We know that to
day tiie mot persist
ently active volca
noes are in the trop
ics, where associate
phenomena of earth
quakes are most fre
quent.
We know that this
! should be the case upon a revolving
sphere lite the earth, where the tendency
of a fl.iid interior to force an exit would be
greatest, and where the greatest strains
upon tbe crust wou d be produced.
]y[UCH inter, is manifesto Iby the pub
lic in recant to the statement of Dr.
Stephen H. Emmons that he has discov
ered a m pans of turning silver into gold.
It is quite poss ; ble thai he has done so,
thon h 1 1 ere is some question whether he
will pr d ;ce go.d in such quantities as to
cause any fluctuation ia the value of the
precious metal.
Alchemy is something more than the
dream of the visionary.and weak-minded.
If one will Iree h s mind from prejudice
mid make a review of authentic records Lie
will find that the transmutation of metals
is an uci'onv 1 shed fact.
All 1 minerals are but differentiations
from a common i ase, and if one could find
the s'eps of differentiation — they have
b -on discovered— then the problem would 1
resolve itself merely into a : question of
mechanical skill. .
V nous vniiers pive the steps necessary
in the transmutation of base me tal into
goid,* excepting that one of the substances
us«*d is so wrapped about with mysterious
veils that it "may require a lifetime forcrie
to di cover the n«idle unless he is so fortu
nate as to meet some one already in pos
session of it. This mysterious substance
is a red power, mystically termed the
"red dragon," and it is indispensable in
the operations of t c alchemists.
, 'Among the authentic' account! of the
transmutation of metal-? are some experi
ments made, in 1782 in the laboratory of
James PMce." M.D., F.R.8., England, in
the presence of twelve or fourteen specta
tors. V. .
:•: A number of experiments were made.
Half an ounce of "mercury was placed in a
small crucible, tog her with a small quan
tity of powdered charcoal and niter. Then
half a grain of j powder of a dark red color
wa« added by Mr Price, and the crucible
was placed on a fire o) moderate red heat.
In about a quarter of an hour the com
pany noticed that the mercury, though in
a "red-hot crucible, showed ,no ; signs of
evaporation "or even boiling. The fire was
gradually 7 raised to a white heat, when a
small dip wa« taken on the point of a clean
iron rod. When the scoria cooled it was
found full of small globules of a whitish"
colored metal, which Mr. Price explained
wa-< an intermediate metal !, between : . mer
cury and a more per ect metal. :i: i : 1 A small
quantity of borax was then added and the
heat again increase I. At the. end of an
other quarter of ran hour the crucible was
taken out ana gradually'" cooled. ' On
know nothing. One bold utterer has voiced
his opinions thus: "Science seems to point
to tbe finite duration of our system in its
present form and to carry us back to the
time when neither sun nor planet existed,
save as a mass of glowing gas. How far
back that was it cannot tell us with cer
tainty, it can only say that the period is
counted by millions of years, but probably
not by hundreds of millions. It also points
10 the time when the sun and stars
shall fade away, and nature shall be en
shrouded in darkness and death." So spake
Professor Ne«comb. Science is made to
bear very many burdens; this is one. No
law of nature doih disclose tbe science of
Head of Donates Comet, JBSB.
the known to be the science of tbe un
known. Throughout all the vast universe
exists a something — call it force, if you
choose — that comprehends all other
forces, and that passeth from meas
urable energy to intangibility, only
to manifest itself as energy when tbe
conditions for such metamorphosis attain.
Some forces of nature lie dormant
until they are brought into contact with
other forces, and then when the combina
tion occurs the resultant energy is of
changed form. Let me illustrate this by
calling attention to the phenomenon of
crystallization. Dissolve some alum in
It will be admitted by any student in
physics that tbe cracking o the earth's
crust, permitting the pouring out of
molten material, would probably occur
along the equatorial Delt, if at all.
On the earth volcanoes are distributed
in groups, or along extensive lines, as if
connected with a fissure of the earth's
crust. The most remarkable linear series
of volcanoes in the world is that which
belts the Pacific Coast, as Professor Le
Conte of Berkeley has pointed out. Com
mencing with the Fuegian volcanoes, it
runs along tbe whole extent of tne Andes,
then along the Cordilleras of Mexico, the
Rocky Mountains, then along the Aleutian
chain of islands, Kamtchatka, the Kurile
Islands, Japan Islands, Philippines, Su
matra, St. Paul, Kerguli-n to the Antarctic
volcanoes, Mount Erebus and Terror,
thence back by Deception Island to Fuega
aeam, thus completely encircling the
gloße.
As mizht be expected, along such a line
of fissures tbe volcanic activity is on a
general scale, and it is likely to be mani
fested in several localities at the same
time. This was observed as early as 1835
by the great naturalist Darwin. Within
100 miles of Tacoma are not less than 200
volcanic peaks, the largest of which —
Mount Tacoma — is 15.000 feet high.
Alaskan volcanoes are frequently active,
and the eastern coast of Asia has an
established reputation for seismic dis
turbances. "In the physical formation of
North and South America there is a re
markable resernolance, which would nat
urally result from the fact that they were
formerly on the same latitudes and gov
erned by similar conditions of climate,"
says the Encyclopaedia.
When the earth's axis was perpendicular
to the plane of the ecliptic, tbe north pole
was somewhere in the vicinity of the
Mediterranean and possessed a delightful
and perpetual sprin- climate. This fact
calls to mind tbe biblical Garden of Eden,
Plato's AUant s and the Garden of the
Hesperides, and concerning these interest
ing times we rind the history and tradi
tions of the older nations replete.
Only One Secret Necessary
to Turn Silver Into Gold
breaking it a globule of yellow metal was
found in the bottom, and in 'he scoiia
were smaller ones, all together weighing
ten prams. Thorough tests were made
with the yellow metal and it was proven
to be pure gold.
Similar experiments were then made,
except that a white powder was added, in
stead of th" red, the result beiue a large
bead of white metal. The gold and silver
thus obtained were submitted to an as
sayer and refiner, both of whom at once
The Eriocaulon, or Pipework
affirmed the impossibility of success of
such a process, and denied the purity of
the metals. But tbe assay instantly dissi
pated their doubts, and they acknowl
edged, with amazement, that the metals
were entirely pure, and gave official cer
tifi ate ß to that effect. Detailed accounts
similar to the above might be multiplied
by the score, if one detired to ao so. Iv
pure water. The solution will remain
c.'cur for an indefinite period if the solu
tion be undisturbed, but attach a micro
scopic octahedrai crystal of the salt to the
finest filament and lower it into the solu
tion. Instantly crystallization commences
at the surface of ihe fluid and progresses
with great rapidity until every atom of
alum in the solu'uon is visible. Now, the
comet is simi>ly a microscopic crystal
crystallizing, i. c., changing the forms of
radiant light and heat into other modes
of motion, wb.ch, in the fullness of their
functions, eventually return back to the
originals.
Ever since comets have been observed a
great deal of speculation has been in
dulged in as to what constituted the tail
of the comet, and some very ingenious
theories have been elaborated to account
for the fact that the tail, whi c observed at
a considerable angle with a line <;rawn to
the sun, and even at right angles to it,
constantly inclines toward the region
from which the comet is moving — always
away from the sun. It is difficult to con
ceive how the tail of the comet of 1880,
150,000,000 miles in length, could in the
spuce of time occupied by the comet-head
in sweeping around the sun— a period of a
few minutes of time— describe so tremen
dous an arc in space in so short a time. If
the tall did actually sweep around the
particles at its extremity must have trav
elea with a velocity utterly inconceivable
to tbe human mind. No known law of
nature can explain tho sudden shift of
position.
Generally the tail is curved, resembling
a scimitar, but many have been observed
of extremely fantastic appearance. One
is recorded as having been seen at the time
of Constantine tbe Great, shaped like a
cross, and the imaginative superstition of
that age discerned beneath it the legend:
"In hoc signes vinces." In this case the
comet did some good. Perhaps we may
be able in coming years, when ihese mat
ters are better understood, to use these
wanderers as messengers to bear our com
munications to other spheres. Of one
thing we may be morally certain — that if
a i reat comet should appear before the
close of this year, the disappointed politi
cal party will, beyond all doubt, charge
their defeat to the comet.
F. M. Close, D.Be.
Concerning the tradition of the Hindus,
Bir Charles Lyell states that "we can by
'no means look upon them as a pure effort
of the unassisted imagination, or believe
them to have Deen composed without re
gard to opinions or theories founded on
the observation of nature."
Lenormant says:
In all the legends of India the origin of man
kind is placed on Mount Me.ru, the residenceof
the gods, which unites the sky to the earth.
• • • Meru then is at once tbe highest
part of the terrestrial world, and tbe central
point of tne visible heavens. • • • It ii
also at one and the same time the north pole
and the center of the habitable globe.
The "Secret Doctrine says:
The Egyptian priests taught the fact to
Plato, wno expounds tbe theory or fact aa a
sudden catastrophe. Dr. Croll combats the
axis theory, saying that such attraction—
and change of climate — can be accounted for
by the mutation and precession of the equi
noxes, "but there are other men of science,
such as Sir H. James and Sir John Lubbock,
who leel more inclined to accept the idea that
they are due to a change ia the axis of rota
tion."
There is one point of importance that
should be noticed. Of course, if the poles
have changed there has resulted a corre
sponding change in the cardinal points.
Do we find any evidence of such a change,
and if we do is it not worthy of special
note?
Terrien de Lacouperle writes:
The names of the four cardinal points, and
what is very remarkable, the hieroglyphic
signs by which they are expressed, are" in a
certain measure ihe same in the Akkadian
and Chinese cultures. • • • The south,
which was so termed in the cuneiform tablets,
corresponds In Chinese to the east, the north
to the wet, the east to the south, making thus
a displacement of a quarter of a circle. It
would be interesting If on examination of the
Akkadian and Assyrian names we could find
that they In their turn denoted an early dis
placement of which only traces remain to
us." — Early History of Chinese Civiliza*
tion.
Frederick Klee pronounces It remarkable
that the Scandinavian mytuology informs us
that before the establishment of the present
order of the world the sun, which now rises in
the east, "rose in the south."
Vienna there is a historical medallion,
containing poi traits of twelve noblemen
arouud the edges. It was originally of
pure silver, but to-day the upper portion
is gold and the lower part silver, a resu.t
of having p.iss d through the hands of an
alchemist and magician. It is, because of
its present constitution, one of the rarest
curios in the world, and should, of itself,
even if there were no other evidence, be
amnle proof of the alchemist's art.
An int resting story ol alchemy comes
from one of the middle States of Germany.
The tale dates from the middle ages. A
traveler sought shelter at the castle of a
Baron one stormy winter right. The lord
oi the manor was away, but tbe Baroness
su'plieu him with food and lodging. Be
fore the stranger departed the next morn
insr he sought the lady of the castle and
expressed ins thanks for ncr hospitality.
He s<iid he had no money, but perhaps he
could repay her m another way. She re
plied that she desired nothing in return,
but he a^k'-d her if she aid not have some
siiver iv the house she would like to
have turned into gold. Acorditigly all
the silver plate was brought forth and
transmuted.
When the . Baron returned home and
saw the gold he immediately, laid claim to
it .under a law winch i>ave the owner of
land all treasure found upon it. His .wife
res;sted the demand, and he noble couple
resorted to the courts for a settlement of
the owner-hip. The Judge rendered a
decision (which may be found in the Ger
man archives) to the effect • that the gold
was the sole property of the Baroness, for
the reason tha the treasure had not been
'•found"- on the Baron's lands, but had
been "manufactured" tor the Baroness at
her request and as a personal gift to her.
The .Baron 'might have formerly had some
claim on the silver plate belonging to the
castle, but comparatively small value of
that was overshadowed by. the great value
o the gold, and he was entitled to recover
nothing from the Baroness beyond the
value of the silver that had di appeared.
Ban Singh.