Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-05-10
LIFE ON THE MOON

has been supposed to be a vast lifeless desert
Astronomers have abused the moon in every
possible way. They have said there was no
heat in moonshine. They have denied the
moon an atmosphere, and consequently water
and organic life They have made us believe
that residence in the moon would be exceed
ingly undesirable. The old faith in the GODDESS
OF the Night was quite overturned in scientific
circles, and the fascinations Of moonlight were
departing day by day.
But this is all changed. Knox and Malloni
have shown, by very exact observations, that
there is heat in the moons rays Zsntsdeschi
has discovered that this heat produces a sensi-
BILE effect upon the mimosa. An English philos-
| opher 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
remarkable influence. The chemical action
of light is necessary to their principal work
the absorption of carbon from the earbonic
acid gas OF the atmosphere. This work all
plants 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 just be-
| fore the full moon are right, and the scoffers
who call them superstitiOus are themselves
| the foolish ones. For, if sown before or
near new moon the young plants get above
| ground just at the full, when the tender things
need sleep. But if sOwn just before the full,
they come up about new moon, pass their baby
hood under the soothing influences of their dark
nights, and when the full comes are sturdy
urehins, able to work night and day.
The moon worshipers are right also in re-
| gard to the influence of the moon upon the
weather. Herschel, Arago, Whewell. recog-
nized that the moon had some slight power in
| dispensing clouds. The sailers 90 further, and
say the moon eats up the clouds At the last
meeting of the British Association, it was
shown that the weather, through a long serit g
OF years, depended little-a very Iittle-upon
| the phases OF the moon, and now, Quetelet, the
| director of the Brussels Observatory, has shown
that between the first and last quarters of the
| moon, more, and not less rain falls, than du-
ring the remainder of the time. However,
hne weather and greater rainfall may go to-
| gether.
Finally, Webb, after careful comparison Of
| the present appearance of the moon with the
very precise maps of Nader, some twenty
years ago, has shown that have been consider
| aole changes. Some of the small craters in
particular, have a notable difference from what
they had when Nader observed them. These
changes show the existence of water and an
atmosphere. Father Secchi, director of the
| Roman Observatory. after much observation
1 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 Rive, the owner of
I the Observatory at Crawford, near London
gives 1t as his opinion, that what were at first
marked down as seas, and afterward supposed
TO De barren plains are, in fact, extensive for
ests. In support of this, comes up a great
| astrOnomic authority, Schawbe, the discoverer
| of the periodic times of the suns spots
Besides these great smooth plains, which
| were called seas, there are a number of burrows
or wrinkles, nearly hundred, the nature OF
| which was entirely unknown. Their length va
ries from 8 to 80 miles, and their greatest
i breadth Is about 1000 feet; most of them are
considerably narrower. Their sides are parallel
| and smooth; some run in straight lines and
| some are gently curved. Ordinarily they are
| separate, but sometimes they cross each other;
| often they cross craters, but occasionally they
seem to be cut off by them. They are found
/ all over the surface of the moon except on the
highest mountain chains.
OF these burrows Schwabe 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 a while
they returned, again to disappear In this
periodic change be thinks that he finds proof
| that these lines are rows Of trees and the clear
s:reaks between them are the bare ground
seen when the trees are leafiess. When the
trees are in full Leaf, the ground il so covered
as to produce uniform shade, and the lines
disappear.
Nothing is more natural than to suppose that
the dark spots on the moon are forests; but
how shall we account for the growth of these
trees in right lines2 This hypothesis we must
for the present consider to be only hypo.
thesis. With the aid of photography, which
will secure for us accurate pictures of the moon
from time TO time, we may hope that the ques-
ton will be solved, and that we may really
find out what is going on upon the surface OF
| our satellite ~. Y. Tribune