Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1860-06-05
Life ON the Moon. .

Life on the Moon.
| Until quite recently, the surface of the moon
has been supposed to be vast lifeless desert
Astronomers lave abused the moon in every
possible way. They have said there was DO heat
| in moOnshine. They have denied the moon an
atmosphere, and consequently water and organic
life. They have made US believe that resi-
dence in the moon would be exceedingly nnde-
sirabe. The old faith in the Goddess of the
Night was quite overturned in scientific circles,
and the destinations of moonlight were depart
| ing day BY day.
| But this is all changed. Knox and Melloni
have shown, by very exact observations, that
there is heat in the moons rays. Zantedeschi
has discovered that this heat produces sensible
effect upon the minosa An English philoso-
pher has found that the earth is colder during
the first quarter Of the moon than it is in the
second.
| Upon the growth of plants the moon exercises
a remarkable influence. The chemical action Of
| light is necessary to their principal work, the
absorption of carbon from the carbonic acid gas
of the atmosphere. This work all plaurs carry
on during the day, and in the night they sleep
except when the moon shines. She wakes them
and sets them at work. So the farmers who
plant only jus before the full moon are right,
aud the scoffe,s who call them supersttious are
themselves the foolish ones. For, if sOwn be-
tore or near new moon, the young plants get a
bove ground just at the full, when the tender
things need sleep. But if sown just before the
ltuli, they come up about new lnodi, pass their
baby hood under the soothing Influence Of dark
nights aud when he full moon comes are sturdy
urcfllns, able to work hight and day.
| The moon wor>hippers are right, also, in re-
| gard to the Influence of the lnoon upon the
weather. Herschel, Arago and Whewell recog-
n,zed that he moon had some slight power in
| dispensing clouds. The sailors go further, and
say the moon eats up the clouds At the last
meeting of the British Association, it was shown
that the ea'her through long series of years
depended little-a very llltle-upon the phases
Of the moo and now Qdereef, the Director of
the Brussels Observatory, has shown that be-
tween the first and lasI quarters of the moon,
more and not less rain fails than during the re-
mainder Of the time However, fine weather
and greater rainfall may g. together
| Finally, Webb, AFTER a careful comparison Of
the present appearance OF the moon with the
very precise maps made by Nader some twen-
ty years ago, has shown that there have been
considerable changes. S,me OF the small crs-
ters, III particular, have DOrably different form
from what they had when Madler observed them.
These changes show the existence of water and
an atmosphere. Father Seechi, Director of the
Roman Observatory, after mach observation,
has come to the conclusion that the peaks of the
highest mountains on the moon are covered with
snow. And, to make Us still more at home on
the moon, De la R.ve the owner of the ooserva-
Tory at Crawford. London, gives it as his
Iopinion, that what were at first marked down as
seas, and atterward supposed to be barren plains
Il in fact ex en-ive forests. In support of this,
comes up great astr ononic authority, Schwabe,
lie discoverer Of the periodic times of the suns
rJ,.ca fi, 1osp hinb
were called seas, there were number of fur
rows or wrinkles, nearly hundred, the nature
of which was entirely unknown. Their length
varies from three to thirty five miles, and their
e. eaest breadth is about five thousand feet !;
most ut them are considerably narrower. Their
sides are parallel aud smooth; some run in
straight lines and some are grntly curved Or
jdnarily they are separate, but sometimes they
cross each other; often they cross cratsrs, but
occasionally they seem to be cut off by them
They are found to be all over the surface of the
lnooa, except on the highest mountain chains.
Ot these burrows Schwaba has made careful
study at various times. He found them to con-
sist Of very fine parallel dark lines, separated by
clear spaces. A few months later, the lines or
|streaks had disappeared, but after while they
returned, again to disappear. In this periodic
change he thinks that he finds proof that these
lines are rows of trees and the clear streaks be-
tween them are the bare ground seen when the
trees are leahess. Wnen the trees are in full
leaf the ground is SO covered as to produce a
uniform shade, and the lines disappear.
Nothing is more natural than to suppose that
the dark spots Oh The moon are forests; but bew
shall We account for the growth of these trees in
r,gh' lne>2 This hypothesis we must for the
present consider 10 be only an hypothesis. With
the aid OF photography, which will secure for US
accurate pictures Ut the m,on from time to time
We may hope that the question will be solved
and that We may Really find out what is going ON
upon the surface Vt our satellite.
Y.U CAN'T CONE 1r-The only things that
England has ever been able t. import from ia
pan, have been the little clay gods, proving that
| in the endeavOr to establish Commerce with
that country, all her Efforts have been Idol.
Toasts al u Medical D,nner.-"The President
of the o. s. He has proved himself sklllful
bleeder" The Vice 2. gave: sour Noble Sci
ence. In the midst of death il is IN lite! Mu
sic: "Dies ir0. A distinguished stranger (fron
Hoboken) gave: The mothers OF America the
lninislering angels of our profession: without
them, we should have no children to bring up in
the way they should go-i. e. to the apothecary
shop."
| The Mystery leared.-Sone of the Honorable
Do Titles st Washington, have been sorely ex-
ercised, about the rank Of the Envoys from jed
| do. Let them read aud be comforted We
went in yacht to see the Ambassadors, while
they were Knocking about in Chesapeake bay,
and we then and there discovered that they were
the whole of them-nothing more than japan
ese Walters
| Died in the Wool-Mntton.
Official sketching that would astonish the Ja-
panese-Free hand drawing from the public
Treasury.
The Professor-Ths, ladies and gen
tlemen, is the gorilla, a lnan-rnOnkev, the
greatest living curiosity in the known world
He was captured by a party of travellers on The
banks OF the Senegambia while-(stick accom-
paninent)
Gorilla Gndignantly )-Jem Briggs, if you
punch me- again with that stick, Ill come out
there and lam yer out of yer bootsl
SUNDAY IN PARIs-The Catholic Mirror is
publishing series Of letters from Europe. writ
ten by the Rev. Mr.. Obermyer The reverend
gentleman, speaking of the observance of Sum-
day in Paris, remarks:
| ''Amid so much that is gratifying in Paris,
there is one thing that must shock and scandal
ize an American Catholic. 1t is the awful des-
ecration of the Lords day. A person can with
difficulty perceive any outward difference be-
tween Sunday aud other days in the week. Here
on Sunday all kinds of servile work is performed.
To keep open stores and shops is too bad but
it is worse to see the mason laying his stone, he
carpenter busy at his trade, the stone cutter