New-York tribune., 1868-10-22
cumference ought plainly to be 800 teet snd a, N.

radius il somewhat less than one-s xtb ~ a., ' @ e
ioIence, IL snoIu De raiher more than 0O feet Ills
however Is only rough approximation. et ns coms
nearer che truth. The moons diameter never cx
ceeds 3Ss minutes. II "a minutes be assumed. ths
moon will certainly not be made too small Now III
radius of "a circle is 43S times the length Of one MI
ute. The moons diameter is therefore very ner,iv
the Tooth part of its distance from the earth Consc
qnshtly. an object having breadth Ot one Zoo.
would mt the distance of 100 feet be equal IN yiSts
to the diameterof the moon At dstance of 20 Seet
1t would be double; at y feet IL would be- for ,i,
at l2l feet IL would be ight times II ihs Lr'adII
of the human head be six inches half isot AZ ~
teot from the eye of the specialize it woni be four
times the diameter of the moons disk |, q man Ia
placed 40 teet from the spectator the breadth Of hs
head being half foot it would be one-ionrth fla
diameter OF the moon. AT the distance OF 100 Yards
an object one yard in diameter would bs equal ia
breadth TO that Of the moon. This ratio of lr0i
very easily remembered; and the size Which ia
moon should he in picture can readily be deter
mined 10y referring it TO an object of known dimen.
sion and distance. To make the moons dian1rter
twice large as ought 10 be il not to be tolerated.
the Royal Academican made IL nearly three times loo
great. IL may be as well, III connection with this
subject, TO explain another matter respecting the
moons apparent diameter which can easily I've done
by aid OF the preceding principles bOnetimes tho
moon. when rising appears of enormous size. How is
this to be accounted fort Suppose the moon Is seen
rising behind house which is 20 feet wide, and
distant it would be as large or nearly
as the hOuse; because the latter is lS
Now. if the observer has formed an made
quate estimate of the distance Of the house, ex
aggerated estimate Of the size OF IT, or has committed
both of these errors, the moon VIII appear uneOm-
monty large and il these estimates l'Ind everybody
nnconsciously estimates size and distance of Oljec3
be very erroneous. tho moon Will appesr enormously
large. Owing TO this comparison of th8 mO0ns diqt
when near the horizon with objects OF considerable
dimension, almost everybody Is of the opinion thai
it is larger at such time than when IS IS up high
This Is an error. On tho same evening the moons
disk is in general smaller wien rising than when ID
passes the meridian; the greater the altitude ths
greater will DO the disk of the moon; because the
observer being the surface OF the earth IS by rca
son of It's diurnal motion brought nearer The moOa
when the latter has reached It's greatest elevation
than when it is near the horizon although the C1cr
This rule for the moon holds good also for the SUM-
because the disks Of the sun and moon very nearly
equal. IL n picture be composed OF Ohy SKY aui
still water the sun or moon might be made any sze
but the moment any terrestrial OBJECT : introduced
if only wave, relation Of magnitude taxes place.
and should not bo disregaTded.
A picture by another Royal Aca a1emician was
painful TO look at. 20 outrageous Is the prospective
that the water Of a river is made much higher tlaa
the land adjacent and n railway on that depressed
fat is not at all short of 40 feet wide-an unusually
broad gauge.
good 10 take few lessons IN perspective, n notin
some other departments of their calling. ihey nave
a Professor of Perspective they might consult hih
before painting monster moons anu DiOal- gauge
Another large picture hing on tho wall. in which
some people placed at the foot OF = hl whlchn
at least % feet high. and the hguics are FeIy eR
the spectator, who cannot be more than 100 rect IRON
the summit Of the hill. Beyond and above the III ae
distant ridges terminating in horizon intended 10
represent distance Of at least ten miles To trans
late this arrangement into reality f II were possible
to do sol, the distant land lin tie painting not m
tended for rising ground) would be about six miles
hgh-higher than Kintschindlnga.
Another painting. although not by an L. A., which
hung the exhibition just closed, hls s perspective
badly adjusted that prominent sheep q mad,
at least 100 feet long. Allowing real sheep &c
be three feet long. this big sheep, which lrug or
the wall of the Royal Acadee.y' IS 4t least =
solids are 20 each other the enbeS of their IiM
linear dimensions, II IS 2l,0OO times a. large ana
~ pounds IS the weight o OF Sc slaii ~ 7Ees tS
M nine pence per pound, that sheep wond be WOft
20 900 sterling Ii il 10 be hoped West End Du'ohei
will buy it, and throw 2,On.OD pouhus oi h"tso.
suddenly on the market and reduce the price Oi thei
desirable article.
1t would require columns of type 10 notice th'
garng absurdites the creations of ignorance, weak.
ness and bad taste which were Cnshrined IN Hli
frames on the walls of the R0yai Araoeny. Ois
more picture. however deserves mention, DecaLseH "
was painted BY Royal Academleian--Oy one VIE
ceived a thorough artistic Thinning. although " Wn
little too bad even for the art critic 10 paise
This artist PROCESSES 10 paint faces whiie e I0e'd
thrusts hls insuaerable drapeTy, 10 tA9 iront IN,
iuyariable little girls stare and assall }OJ WIN
brazen etfrontery fully supported 10y me pids q
drapery which they fiaunt beneath thcir impuden:
faces. In this picture are large franks of trees and
one Of them is 50 large that IT. damertar Is abolf
two hundred feet. The most OF these Royal AcaIeml
they knock color, tone. and Nonsense INTO lament
able heap together.
An Associate ROYAL Academician also had a larrs
picture on the wall in which the figures ln the a.
tanee looked like giants. and the people M t' tore
ground, although occupying great space on tDo Cal
vas looked ike pigmies.
Now, If the big sheep, which was one huntre1
feet long and the big tree, which Was two hnndrod
feet thick, ana the broad-gauge railway. which W1
forty feet wide, aud the giants. winch were twenty
feet hign and the monster neon, which WAS seNeD
times too large. had been gathered together on phe
canvas. happy compensation would have taken
place and there would have been produced at least
one passable picture.
A committee of the forty Is appointed each year 10
pass Judgment the paintings of outsiders sens for
aud it is said the committee gt 80 mud-
died by OF looking AZ many pictures that
before getting half through their labOrs they
able 10 tell good picture trOm bad one. one would
suppose, from what appeared on the walls OF tbc
Academy this year, that the committee got mud
died" beer very early in their Judgment session
aud not only that but that NOst ot The artists whose
paintings ran the gauntlet aAd were hung must also
have been " muddled when they painted them.
It is the general opinion that the exhibition ~ this
year was tue poorest ever gwen by the Academy.
That il was very bad there can be 10 quest ION. -
the time 1t is an undoubted isci that the eNh@
btiOu of this year was but repetition al That OF tho
last Each artist painted the same picture or pc
fures over again. The same kind OK chickens were
hatched from the same brains the same kind of
feathers made the same fuss the Royal Academys
are like the repeated broods of the sane
ben and like the hen it sets mp tremendous caCk-
hng over a very small affair wheg 10 has laid its NO
mentous egg.
A NEW CHRoNo
Mr.. Prang sends us q Winter LaDdscape. bv .
,Ir. J. Morviller. Of whom. never heard his