The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1853-11-15

The es,oon1d head OF enseie, which Is hs".spne.
iassces al once, that the summit Of me .en'aes - .
like ioTmidable wall Of pesks s,andag GUY VIII
their mysiads Of ella maintaining currents o. water .ne
threads LANDING Ga, ,O en"ash 70 convey TO your minds
the idea OF such apparatus as ms presents ~heh se"
forth against It's prey
Finally inssmuch these lasso-cells were found to
be bnt notifications of cells proper, we must draw the
unouesonable inference that single cells which are be-
sved be general The simplest elements Of o.EanIc
The worlds beyond the reach OF microscopic power
almost boundless, quite wondrous IN The incompe
hensbily OF their vasness. any OF those whose ex
isencs 10 bat dimy revealed TO the eye OF the asrono
We cannot dwell upon the curious phenomena detected
in the circulation OF the nsect-uds the first dawn
of classification by types which Swallowed forth in
Agsss,xs the Cambridge meeting. and
which has been since then developed into so magnificent
system. Those alone enough to cbaracttrze the
messing az important; bur others had not been idle.
II was the meeting that the hrst distinct CON-
municalion made OF the new method OF astronomical
observation which, originating with the disting
chief OF national coast survey, has by the labor OF
Americans, pre- eminent among whom are the names Of
Walker and Michel, been bTough, TO such perecuon
that one observation Of the uans, Of any celestial body
by the "AMerican method" 10 worth al the lowest esi
mate fifteen observations by the old method
Alas! while write the honOred name OF Walker
thousand melancholy remsmbrances rush to our mind
American astronomy lamens fsvoriie son that enlha-
siasic heart beats the quick thought oaspeed-
ing the very lightning and measuring its pace token
OF itself longer In the prime Of years, The midst
Of usefulness, the meridian OF his tame he has been
snatched from earth. He sees light unappoachable and
full Of glory for us, sun has been eclipsed. Those
who remember the ardor OF Walker Tor the new method
Of observation, the noble zeal with which, regardless OF
the venom which disappointed ambition scattered pene,
Ousy in his path, he pressed toward the perfection OF
the teexraphc method OF observation the enthusiasm
which spoke in every tone and made self manifest IN
every gesture. as he told the tale OF bic trlumpha sue
cess, will love dwell upon this "reminiscences OF the
meeting ct Cambridge.
81 will not here" said be, ''aude 10 the respective
claims Of Americans for priority superior excellence OF
inventions aud beeving thar WIZ be beco
ing in all Of look the work that has been &C
complishsd by united Efforts rather Than to The single
He showed how one transit over one thread worth
four threads by the old method of Observing and that
ten ansls threads might be observed and recorded
with the facility with which transit was OBJ
served before, making gain by the new OF automatic
method OF forty fold far the gain IRON mutt
plcaton Of the number OF threads and increase OF the
precision OF the individual ansils came INTO the esl-
mates. But the method OF observation cannot modify
the atmospheric peculiaes OF the time when otserva-
lions are made we cannot as he very Justly stated 90
tain 10 night by any refinement OF instruments or OF
methods the advantage OF made on SO many
different nights that their average would eliminate the
effect OF any meteorological pecuIlares.
The next day Walker brought before the association
the analogy detected by Professor klrkwood, OF Pets'
vle Pennsylvania the period OF rotation OF those PM
mary planets whose time of rotation is known and con-
coded with an elaborate and brilliant paper upon the
subject This curious and elegant analogy had been dis.
covered by Mr. Krkwood after ten years OF patient
time of rotation of Uranus OF whether the ac-
cordance be casual TO speak, in its nature or The ex
preston of some cosmical law.
The curious formula OF Peirce, which represents alike
vegetable growth and planetary revolutions was ist an
nonnced at this meeting We may represent the arrange
Of petals bracls buds, seeds or leaves, or
any other vegetable organs, by traction, in which The
denomination indicates The number oil petals or buds, or
that find in following up the spiral they form
a ound the axis, until arrive at that one which ls
precisely over the from which began TO count,
snd the numera,or the number OF turns thus made
Thos in plant with alternate leaves we represent Tie
arrangement BY the fraction las succory we lind three
buds for turn around the stem, which arrangement
denote by l-3 in the apple find hve buds TO two
turns, or 23; in the cnrranbnsh thus ratio IS SO u
5l3 in shepherds purse, &c Now, while Ind these
and yet other ratios IN plants. lind none which are
not members OF tbs series 10 which these numbers
belongs series represented by the smpe a'aeorac ex-
preston y + a. in which is positive nteger while
10 Infinitely continued fraction, formed wholly OF
units in which by stopping al any point we obtain sue
cessive approximate values.
The only values observed in The ordinary forms oil
vegetable growth those which the agebraic express
sion above furnishes by the OF either q or IN the
place OF n The series usually observed corresponds TO
the case when is 2. and gives the values
l-3. as, SIS, s-l3, 1921, &c,
in which each numerator is the denomnaor OF the pre-
cedng fraction; and each denoninator the sum OF the
two denomnaiors preceding in all the forms OF vege-
table growbin the pineeone. the oak leaf, the
bud--we find this primal idea developed Ali these rac-
tons the APPROXIMATIONS 10 The value OF
Infinite series. like great thought underlying The
i, an element Of inhniiy though the mode OF expression
10 necessarily finite" Now, there is room Tor any
theory OF this arrangement being brought about by vol
untary selection by the leaves OF The widest and cleafe
spaces although the admirable end OF such ystem OF
packing certainly attained, Tor the leaves begin TO
all al once and zach IN its appropriate place. " In the
position which they thus attain there any deficiency OF
light. any olher impeachment 10 Tree and healthy
growth they will devaie iron their primitive position
but this may always be traced by following the leai
stalk down is base, and careiuy observing The po-
sition which this base attached Moreover other
methods oil arrangement may be devised which answer
admirably well tbs desiceratam OF convenient packing.
and in which the fractions do not belong 10 the series
given above bat search for these throughout the
vegetable world in vain
Suddenly turning our attention TO another science. and
fixing upon widely different region OF CREATION
mod these fractions ALEC, tor they represent The periods
OF revolution OF the panes OF our system. The ratio
OF the motion OF each lane TO that of the next
terror uniformly represented with great approx
ton 70 correctness by OF the fractions OF the
series
whence could this extraordinary coincidence have
arsen but from the action OF single mind, and what does
IL indicate but that the Word which created the
planet is expressed in the plant 7"
The subject of an Americas meridian from which 10
reckon lcngtudes discussed and with consider able
warmth. Astronomers Tor The most part advocated the
introduction of this meridian into the new American
Ephemers and Nautical Almanac, bat met with oppo
siton from other quarters and was maisained that the
accustomed nj present 10 reckon bis longludes
from Greenwich could not learn other tables which
should furnish him with The Longitude counted from The
meridian OF Washington. II was argued on the other
hand that az the longitude OF places in The United States
taxing any OF them the initial point, could be de-
term'ned within few hundredths OF a second. While The
ofa data, .tnns,o. Eurnn IAN