The New York herald., 1870-12-09
LECTURES LAST NIGHT.
FAIRY TALES OF SCIENCE

Lecture by Professor Doremns Before the
! Young Mems Christian k.s0ciuiion-The
| Scientific Aspects Of the Earth.
Last evening Professor Doremus gave the second
OF the course ofecturcs announced on the "rrumphs
OF Science" before the Young MEMS Christian AsSo-
CATION. There was a large and inteectua au-
| dience, who frequently testified the interest they
felt the glorious results OF the patient industry OF
| the present generation OF sarans were spread out
before them by loud and hearty applause
After n few Introductory remarks Professor Dore-
! mus said there was u class OF men who claimed to
have discovered the distance OF most OF The bright
orbs II the armament, as we'll as the sizes and
! weights OF many OF them. Now. how was this
! knowledge galned2 1t was generally known that
we could measure the distance between two objects
| on this globe without actual measurement, simply
| by watching the angles when were made between
the eye ana the objects themselves. The same prln
cple was applied by the astronomer TO the Sun and
Moon and other celestial OBJ ects. Some or the stars
were distant that they could only be measured by
the time taken by ray OF light TO travel from them
to the Earth, and, even judged by this standard,
were so remote that light took hundreds of years
to traverse the space between them and the
eve OF the astronomer VINO was gazing at them
When the dstance was known the size also could
tie asc ertan ed by . calculation founded ON the
diameter and dis tance OF the object, but some stars
remote tnat we could not correctly estimate
their diameter. though we could form some idea OF
tDeir grandeur by the comparative brillIancy. The
weight was discovered by ascertaining the power or
attraction possessed by the different planets. Some
might say that these were mere dreams Of fancy.
But, IN truth, astronomical calculations and mta-
surements were the only ones entited to absolute
creIIt. lie was ashamed TO say that there was ony
one state OF the Union that mad yet been correctly
iaid down on the map by astronomical obserya-
YORKER, sorry TO say was Massachusetts At pre-
seat the maps OF lnis country very Inaccurate
N n th ~ n ihnf VIC yCQhp
as aiyldMg our various counties and States. and
they musl ever DC Inaccurate until verified by SCI
entinc tests and Measurements. He ought not,
however. 10 out t. state furher. that at neither
OF The colleges OF The city was there All observatory
ton. In view ol our wealth. was not tnat great
opprobnum TO our city, Indeed. that melancholy
ought TO come forward and bring under popular
ice the claims Of science. New York gave freely
thought tnis reproach OF her liperality TO science
would not long be allowed to rest upon Us.
The Professor then again returned TO the discov-
erieS made nv means OF spectrum analy ses. The
most Common metal in the universe seemed 10 be
sodium, lor we iound 1t eyerywhere-al all through
the starry word III The nir and III tue human body
An old Inscription at Memphis said tnat The Earth
below showed wnat the planels above were Ike.
Our Earth was but burned up star ana s crust but
a very frdgmentary part OF its bulk. We all know
how terrible were earthquakes or the trembling OF
tie Earth,s crnst under the influence OF some lu-
ternai agitation. BY an estimate ne had made
IeH yeats ago It appeared that no less tnan h II Il
million OF human beings and millions OF other
an mails had ueeu destroyed by earthquakes and
volcanoes within the la { TWO centuries. Tns showed
iii yigor OF THIS internal force Of the Earth and the
terrlbls conditions unuer when were living.
Dr. DOreinns tnen gave nutnber OF Instances or
remarkable sinkines and elevations OF the Earth's
crust, which. compared TO the entire bulG OF the
globe WAS hut oAe TO torCy. He then proceeded
to show .he OF the Earth's and
the rnions inodhcations to when It's surface has
been subjected, Especially in the relative arrange.
Inc I o. land and water. 10 the eye Of The geolo-
g'st the Earth, as 1t existed at PRESENT, was the
product oil uualterapie ana benehcent laws winch
ntd slowlY worked out conditions oil climate and
even # wilma clrrents, III exact correspondence
with the needs Of the animated creation. Ihe
lecture terminated W IN some brilliant experiments,
showing he pre-, Isl N OF The ratio IN whicr the
elements oil matter comb ned. The Professor, as he
closed was greeted with enthusiastic applause.