Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1860-06-09
Life ON the Moon.

III every possible way. They have said there
) was no heat in moonshime. They have de.
nicd the moon an atmosphere, and conseouon-
: tly water and organic life. They have made
us believe that residence in the moon woull
be exceedingly undesirable. The old faith
IN the Goddess of tie Night was quite over
turned in scientific circles and the fus"i:.. tions
OF moonlight were departing day by day.
But this is all changed. Knox and Mclo
III nav" shown, b very exact observations,
that there is heat in the moons rays. Xan-
t:Ioschi has discovered that this heat produ-
cos n sensible effect upon the mmosa. An
English philosopher 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 ex
crcscs n remarkable influence The chcmi-
cal action OF light is necessary to their prin-
cipal work, the absorption of carbon from the
carbonic acid gas of the atmosphere This
work all plants carry on during the day, and
IN the night they slccp-cNccpt when the
moon shines, She makes them and sets
them at work. So The farmers who plirt ouIy
Just before the full moon are right, md the
scottcrS who call them supcrstitous, N,,m.
selves the foolish ones. For, if sowl orc
or near now moon, the Young plants get
. above ground Just at the full, when the ten
der things need sleep. But if sown lust be-
fore the full they come up about new moon,
pass thclr babyhood under tho soothing in
/ huenccS OF dark nights, and when the full moon
comes are sturdy urclins, able to work YighJ
ana o"y.
nc moon-worShippcrs arc wight, also, in re
Gafo TO the influences OF the moon upon the
"ca'h'f llerSchc'i, Arago and Whcwcll,
recosu'Hcd that the moon had some slight
power IN uiSpcfslnE the clouds The sail
CTS 20 lurthcr ana SHY that tho moon cats
up 'nG clouds. Ut the last meeting of the
bflt'Sh Association 1t was shown that the
"'"'"GF' I"Iohgh long series OF years, de.
pended httlc---a very lttc-upon the
phases OF the moon; and Don QnctcIct, 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 dTring the remainder of the time. How
ever, Inc weather and greater rainfall may 90
togctncr
Finally, Webb, after careful comparison
OF the present appearance OF the moon with
inc very precise maps made by Nader some
twenty years ago has shown that there has
0een considerable changes Some of the
Smail craters ~ partlcular, have Il notably
/ dilercnt form from what they had when Mad
cr observed them These changes show the
existence OF water and an atmosphere. Pa
ther hccch', Director of the Roman Obscrva-
tory alter much observation, has como 70 the
conclusion that the peaks of the highest noun
tans OH the moon arc covered with snow.
And, to make us still more ut home ON the
mHoh, C la tlvo, the owner OF the Obscrva-
tory at Crawford, near London, gives it as his
! opnlon, that what were at first marked down
as seas, and afterwards supposed to be barren
plains, arc IN TACT extensive forests In sup
| port OF TINS comes up great astronomic au,
tnority, Schwabe, the dlScoycrcr of the peri.
odlc times OF the suns spots.
Besides these great smooth plains, wh;cl.
were called seas, there are number of far
rows or wrinkles, nearly hundred, the ma
.ure OF which was entirely unknown. Their
'chEth varies from three to thirty-hve miles,
ana 'Ie'r greatest breadth IS about five thou
SAND feet most OF them arc considerably mar
| rover. Their sides arc rnrnllpl and smooth
some run in STRAIGHT lines. and somc ore onn
tly curvcd. Ordinarily tIIcy are scnorote Ian,
sometimes thcv cnoss each 4hcr: often tbcv
cross cmtcrs. but occasionallv thrv sern to ho
cut Off by them. They are founj ,ll oyc, tLo
moon, except the HIGHEST mountain chain
OF these furrows Schawbc has made cnre.
ful study at various times. lie found thcm
to consist of very fine parallel dark lines Ken.
aratcd by clear spaces a few months later,
the lines of streakX had disappcaycd bnt after
a while they returned, again TO dsapncor
In this ncrodic chance Lc thinl.e ihot Lo