having escaped all the dangers of the way, a hot-bed, of which our air is the glass. was placed one night ready for immediate From experiments of the class described, service. In the morning its surface was Herschel and, separately, Pouillet inferred found covered with a net-work of miscel- that the sun's heat is great enough to melt laneous scratches. It had suffered at the in one year a crust of ice one hundred feet hands of friendship. One of the soldiers, thick covering the entire globe--both the wishing to do a kindly deed for the pro- day and night sides. Numerous trials fessor, had gone to work in the morning have been made since then to solve this twilight with his buckskin gloves at the problem more accurately. The quantity mirror. He had polished as faithfully as of the sun's heat, or its melting power, is the ruler of the Queen's navee, and left the called in scientific jargon "the solar coninstrument with about as much capacity | stant. As has been said, this lies at the for reflection as a tin pan. The professor base of a correct science of meteorology. had, however, some unexpected reflections. The Mount Whitney observations show the sun to be hotter than was supposed. In spite of all difficulties, the experi- The heat received at the earth's surface is ments were very fully carried out. A probably more by one-half than was estimass of observations was taken on the mated by Herschel and Pouillet, and even mountain and simultaneously at its base. materially exceeds the values assigned by Some time has been spent in reducing more recent investigators. It would in these since the return to Allegheny. A one year melt a crust of ice over the whole formal scientific report to the War Depart- sunward half of the earth six hundred ment is in preparation. If addressed to feet thick. This is, of course, a statement the world of science, it might properly be- in very round numbers. The scientific gin with the stereotyped phrase of mercan- phrase would be that the sun's vertical tile circulars from the East Indies: "Gen- energy could raise the temperature of one tlemen; we have the honor to confirm our gram of distilled water three degrees Cenprevious advices." tigrade per minute for each centimeter of the earth's surface nominally exposed. Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope found that the sun's rays were hot Having supplied us with an increased enough without concentration by lens or amount of heat, the Mount Whitney exmirror to cook a family dinner. It was periments also favor us with new figures only necessary to place the raw food in an of intenser cold. The estimates of Heropen metallic vessel, put that in the Afri- schel and Pouillet made the temperature can sand exposed to sunshine, and cover of space 224° below the zero of Fahrenheit. the whole with glass after the manner of The new results carry it down nearly to a hot-bed. Certain solar rays go through the calculations for the absolute zero, the the glass almost as easily as they come absence of all heat, say minus 459° F. from the sun, but they can not so readi- To the non-scientific mind the distinction ly return till they leave some of their heat between such far-down temperatures is behind. Theirs is the predicament of the not unlike that between the pains of fox that squeezed himself into the hen-rheumatism and those of gout, the first coop, but found that he could not get out without disgorging his meal. In one of the experiments near the summit of Mount Whitney, a copper vessel was simply covered with two sheets of plain window glass, and exposed direct to the sun; the temperature within the vessel soon rose above boiling-point. A solar engine might be set to work there in the midst of a snow-field, making its steam without fuel, fire, or concentrating lenses. This discovery should be commended to the heat, light, and power companies that are tearing up the streets of New York; they might be induced to transfer their operations to Mount Whitney. being as from a thumbscrew twisted to the last point of human endurance, the gout giving one turn more. Further, it appears that the direct heating power of the sun can not raise a thermometer quite 50° F. above its surroundings, whatever they may be. If we suppose the whole globe a thermometer, and without an atmosphere, the sun could only heat it fifty degrees above the cold of space, leaving it at about minus 400° F. under full sunshine. The internal heat of the earth may be disregarded in these calculations. It seems paradoxical to say that if the atmosphere were removed from the earth, its surface would receive more The whole globe has been compared to heat and yet be much colder. But this is a fact of the same kind as our experience in ascending a mountain. The atmosphere does indeed cut off a great deal of heat, but on the other hand it keeps a great deal of that which it permits to pass through. When the air is heated up to its retaining capacity an "equilibrium" is established. A pro To illustrate: let us imagine a large, empty, windowless hall, with two doors partially obstructed by Centennial turnstiles, one for entry and one for exit. cession of one hundred persons enters per minute. At first there is abundant room; few want to come out. At the end of the second or third minute perhaps only three people are leaving for one hundred arriving. After a longer interval the number of departing guests is much greater. At last the hall is crowded to its utmost capacity, and if we still suppose one hundred per minute entering, it is absolutely certain that one hundred per minute must be getting out. This final condition is one which we may call equilibrium. If the turnstiles of Centennial pattern record their turnings, we can ascertain exactly how many people are in the hall at any moment. Now to apply the illustration to heat-bearing rays entering our atmosphere, we may suppose that nearly all reach the soil through radiation; that ninety per cent. go out through the regular exit of "convection"; nine per cent. squeeze back through the turnstile by which they entered-“radiation”; and one per cent. climb out through the chimney of conduction." It follows that by merely regulating the turnstiles, by modifying this capacity for selecting and holding rays of certain wave-lengths, atmospheres could be constructed which would keep the planet Mercury cool, or the far-off Neptune comfortably warm. Here is a hint for romancers who wish to plant their dramatis personæ in some other world. The Allegheny and Mount Whitney observations firmly establish the fact that the sun is blue. The particular shade of color which it has, if viewed without intervening atmosphere, may be laid down as that on the border of the blue near the green, about where the line F appears in the spectrum. Sad to say, this is not an "æsthetic" hue; it is more like that referred to in one of Southey's poems: "You could almost smell brimstone, their breath was so blue, for he painted the devils so well." The sky, as seen from the summit of Mount Whitney, was of a deeper violet than had been observed elsewhere, even at Mount Etna, in Sicily. The air was extremely dry, no mist or fog being at any time apparent. In another set of experiments, not here described, Professor Langley determined exactly how much and what kind of heat was lost during the operation of the bolometer. The silver of the mirror, the glass, the grating, even the lamp black on the metallic strips, each se lects and abstracts certain rays. Full allowance was made for these absorptions.* When the final result is presented graphically, it shows that at the earth's surface the hottest part of the spectrum is near the orange. This is quite different from previous *The curious fact presented itself in the course of these experiments that lamp-black, which is one of the most opaque substances known, is more or less transparent to some of the invisible rays. conceptions. The diagram which makes this display for the normal spectrum shows three, curves, each somewhat irregular. The lowest of these represents the solar energy as we receive it, at sea-level; the second, the distribution of that energy in regions outside our atmosphere; the third, the distribution at the photosphere of the sun before the solar atmosphere has intervened. The similarity of these curves is striking. Another diagram gives the distribution of energy in the prismatic spectrum, in which the red end is abnormally crowded, while the blue end is unduly extended. The curves are constructed by scale from actual and repeated measures with the bolometer, photometer, and other instruments. Deep notches in the curves, showing the decrease of energy at certain points, are found to correspond exactly with the more marked Fraunhofer lines, will only believe what they see, must wait awhile for the photograph to overtake the bolometer. This viewless energy is not a mere abstraction. It is two-thirds of all that gives our warmth, our weather, and our crops. Before the observations here described were made, it was supposed that our atmosphere absorbed the invisible rays below the red very much, and the visible very little. Now the fact is found to be exactly the other way. The absorption increases in regular gradation from the red end toward the violet. Important as are the observations of the new astronomy up to the present time, so far as they are visible. The existence | they are only the beginnings of knowledge. of similar lines in the invisible part of the spectrum has been partially demonstrated by photography as well as by the bolom eter. "Groping in the dark" is a good descriptive title for the work of mapping the spectrum beyond the visible rays. Much labor is here required to measure wavelengths accurately; one of them has absorbed two weeks of continuous experiment. The exact relation between the prismatic and the normal spectrum has been determined. The great extension of the spectral field is an important result. It is as if the compass of a well-known musical instrument had been enlarged by additional octaves. The visible part of the spectrum is little more than an eighth of the whole. About three times as large a space had been somewhat known to investigators of the ultra-red region, and has been recently photographed by Captain Abney. The new researches of Professor Langley double the length of this invisible end. Doubting Thomases, who They will appear merely as outline sketches when the hand of science can complete the picture. Nothing could be conceived as more unpractical than the study of the stars, and yet no professed philanthropy has been of half so much benefit to mankind. When the Cape of Good Hope was occasionally doubled by the voyagers of the sixteenth century, only one ship in four returned to Europe in safety. Now not one vessel in forty is lost. The art of guiding ships by observations on the heavenly bodies, and the telescopic study of the moon, have robbed the sea of its greatest dangers, reduced the cost of marine insurance, and saved hundreds of thousands of human lives. The new branch of astronomy promises even greater benefits, both by sea and land, to civilized man, Whatever of credit may accrue to the researches at Allegheny should be fairly apportioned alike among those who performed the work and those who gave it pecuniary or official aid. Professor Langley has been fortunate in securing and A shed, pig-sty, and two paddocks went with the tenement. Rent of the lot, £11. Moore became the tenant, made boots and shoes incessantly for years, and sold them at Henley, Reading, or Wallingford mar ket. He would carry in a sackful on his back, stand behind them in the market-place, and if he got rid of them, would often buy a pig or a cow, or even a pony, with such excellent judgment that he always made a profit; and when he bought at a fair he often sold his purchase on the road, for the nimble shilling tempted him. One of his declared axioms was, "Quick come and safe keep." training two skilled assistants, Frank W. | feet long; old style-smoked rafters, diaVery and J. E. Keeler. The latter was mond panes, etc. one of the most efficient members of the party in Southern California. The appropriation from the revenue of the Count Rumford fund paid a part of the cost of constructing the first bolometers. The expense of special experiments with that instrument, and the "plant" of apparatus required, were the heaviest burden; this was lifted by the liberal Pittsburgh citizen. Some help was also given from the Bache fund of the National Academy. The facilities tendered by the War Department, and the interest taken by General Hazen of the Signal Service, in addition to the aid already mentioned, made the Mount Whitney experiments possible. The Pullman car of the Pennsylvania Railroad gave help and comfort. Services like these are not rendered in the hope of reward or fame. Their future value can not be foreseen by prophet nor estimated by mathematician. But in any event they will bring to those who have given substantial aid to science a share in the satisfaction that ever comes to the doers of generous deeds. MY RUS. Y dear lamented brother William Barrington Reade was first a sailor, then a soldier, then a county squire, and had from his youth an eye for character and live facts worth noting by sea or land. He furnished me from his experiences several tidbits that figure in my printed works; for instance, in Hard Cash the character and fate of Maxley, and the manœuvres of the square-rigged vessel attacked by the schooner; also the mad yachtsman, and his imitation of piracy, in The Jilt, etc. So now I offer the public his little study of a real character in rural life. Indeed, such quiet things may serve to relieve the general character of my work; for, pen in hand, I am fond of hot passions and pictorial incidents, and, like the historians, care too little for the "middle of humanity." George Moore, a shoemaker, with a shock head of black hair, a new wife, half a hundred of leather, and two sovereigns, came over from Ewelme to Ipsden, and applied to my father for a cottage on Scott's Common. It was a very large cottage; the kitchen between twenty and thirty In 1849 my brother inherited the Ipsden estates, and a year or two afterward occupied an old house of his near Scott's Common, and so he became Mr. Moore's neighbor. He soon found out to his delight that this shoemaker was a character, his leading traits ostentatious parsimony, humorous avarice, and jolly dissatisfaction; his phraseology a curious mixture of rural dialect and metropolitan acumen. As many of his sayings sounded like proverbs, my brother once, to gratify him doubly, said. "Mr. Moore, neighbors should be neighborly," and set him to measure his growing family for shoes. He might as well have given the order to Procrustes: Moore made shoes for shops; he expected feet to fit his shoes; and, after all, live leather is more yielding than dead. The bill was settled one halfpenny short. From that day, although Moore's conversations with my brother rambled over various topics, they always ended one way"Beg pardon, sir, but there was a halfpenny to come last account." Then the humorist would fumble for this halfpenny, but never find it. He used it as a little seton. Moore once related to him his visit to a road-side hotel in the old coaching days. "I came in mortal hungry, Squire, and there was a table spread. Don't know as ever I saw so much vittles all at one time. Found out afterward it was for the passengers' dinner. Sets me down just before the beautifulest ham--a picturetakes the knife and fork, and sets there with my fistes" (pronounced mediævally 66 fistys") "on the table, and the knife and fork in 'em. 'Landlerd,' says I to a chap in a parson's tie, 'be you the landlerd?' No; he was the waiter. 'Then,' says I, you tell the landlerd I wants to speak to 'un very particular'; so presently the landlerd comes as round as a barl mostly. 'Landlerd,' says I, with my fistes on the table, and the knife p'inting uppards, I must know what the reckoning ool be afer I sticks my ferk into't."" Somebody with whom he traded wanted one shilling and tenpence more than his due in a considerable transaction. Moore made the parish ring. However, he appears in this case to have thought he owed mankind in general, and Scott's Common in particular, an explanation, so he gave it to the gamekeeper, Will Johnstone, Johnstone retailed it at the "Black Horse,” and round it came to my humorist, via the gardener. 66 'Ye may say one shilling and tenpence is a very little sum. Here's Moore running all over the parish after one ten. But it's a beginning. A text is a little thing; but parson can make half an hour's sermon on't." Rustic Oxfordshire has never within the memory of man accepted that peevish rule of the grammarians, “Two negatives make an affirmative." We have a grammatical creed worth two of that. We hold that less than two negatives might be taken for an affirmative, or at least for an assent. A Cambridge man, whom his college, St. John's, transplanted into my county as an incumbent, declared to me once that he heard a native of my county address a band of workmen thus: "Ha'n't never a one of you chaps seen nothing of no hat?" men drank no liquid but beer; the women, tea and tadpoles. None of the larger tenants would be bothered with "Scott's." But small farmers are poor farmers and unsuccessful. One or two failed on it, and it was vacant. The homestead was a picture to look at, and in the farm-yard a natural cart shed, perhaps without its fellow, an old oak-tree twenty-seven feet in girth, and of enormous age. The top was gone entirely; so was the inside. Nothing stood but a a large hollow stem with three or four vertical chasms, one so broad that a cart could pass into the wooden funnel. Yet that shell put out the greenest oak leaves in all the country-side. An artist could have lived at Scott's Farm and made money. But the acres attached to the delightful residence made it a bad bargain to farmers; for the acres and the low rent tempted the tenants to farm. Now you must understand that for a long time past Ireland has been telling England a falsehood, and England swallowing it for a self-evident truth, and building rotten legislation on it, viz., that the rent is the principal expense of a farm. It is not one-fifth the expense of a welltilled farm; and of an ill-cultivated farm not one-tenth, for it is the last thing paid. Scott's Farm was one out of a hundred examples I have seen. The rent of seventy-five acres, plus a charming house and homestead, was fifty pounds. Yet one bad farmer after another broke on it, and grumbled at the rent, though it could not have been the rent that hurt him, for he never paid it. Well, Mr. Moore called on my brother, and offered to rent Scott's Farm... My brother stared with amazement, then said, dryly, "Did you ever do me an "Not as I know on, Squire; nor don't mean to." Moore accumulated negatives as if they were halfpence. A neighbor to whom he had now and then lent a spade, or a frying-pan, or a fagot, offended him, and they slanged each other heartily over the pal-injury?" ings. Moore wound up the controversy thus: "Don't you never come to my house for nothing no more, for ye won't get it." The population of Scott's Common is sparse, but the dialogue being both long and loud, seven girls had collected, from four to thirteen years old. With this assembly Moore shared his triumph. "There, you gals, I have sewed up his stocking," said George Moore. Scott's Farm was a small holding surrounded by woods, flat enough when you got up to it, but on very high ground. Not a drop of well water for miles. The "Then why should I do you one? Scott's? Why, they all break on it." 66 "Oh!" said Moore, "folk as ha'n't got no head-piece, nor no money neither, are bound to break on a farm. "Tain't to say George Moore is a-going to break." My brother replied: "Oh, I know you are a good judge of live stock, and I dare say you have picked up a notion of farming. But you see it requires capital." "Well, Squire," said the shoemaker, "I'm not a thousand-pound man, but I'm |