The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-07-15

intelligeutly related and illustrated. Some
Of them would 60 far to induce the Rev. }.
&. WooD to embrace the ant also in his list OF
the lower animals who he contends arc gifted
with immortal life. Professor W. hINGDof
CLIFFORD discourses a: length. and learned
Is, with a sufficient display Of rather pro-
found science, but in an easy style "itha'
upou The First and Last Catastrophe.
This Is, in plain English, about the b'g'n'
ming and the ending Of the world. After
much argument upon the molecular con
struc,ion, atomic theory, nature OF gases
and such like, the Professor concludes tha'
we Know with great probability o! the De-
ginning Of the habitaoility Of the earn
cone or two hundred millions o. years
back but that Of the beginning Of inc ""'-
rcrSe VIC know nothing at all. AS 10 the
end Of things he speaks in this fashion: Lie
cyist, upon the earth by the SUES ac'ioh'
and dcpsrd> upon The sun Tor us co"''''u-
,ncc. We know that the sun IS wearing OUT
is COOLING; therefore, if the carth remains 10
:,.r rr,s.u, orbit about the sun we shall ali
b.. IF, zen out. But he suggests an alterna-
tive: if SIC shall gradually approach the sun
and eventually fall into il, our inevitable tate
will be, says the Professor, to ''be trlcd'~
We have a word to say as TO this d'ctuth
that eve kn0,c that the sun Is wearing OUT
If 50, science has not been able to demon
.,ratc the fact. Professor CLIFFORD means,
wc suppose, only that As the sun Is constant
~ parting with It's heat, the supply must IN
cnur.r of time be exhausted. This is an IN
ference based upon our ignorance. Because
we DO not know how the sun could be sell
,u,,ainlDg-lhat j., could manufacture us
oyn heat without limit As 10 time, and Without
everlasting the materials Of Whicn it is COM
no.cd-lhcrcioIc, the sun will in the course
of q few millions Of years burn out ana
leave The earth in the dreadful condition in
wh,ril ByKoH saw it in his dream. We have
had occasion befolc to say that this
inference seems 10 Us to be entirely un-
cllcd.fur If IN iuhab'ant Of Mars were
To see a few of the showers Of rain that fall
upon the Garth, and were thereupOn to write
learned essay intended TO show that 10 a
certain number Of years the supply of atmo-
sphrric watcry yapor would DE exhausted
Al d the earth left as dry as the moon, he
would occupy the position now occupied by
Professor CLIFFORD and those who agree
with him; for other men Of science assert
with perfect confidence that it is not impos-
sblc that there might be showers Of even
iron upon the earth if it were hot enough.
In an able article upon " CyeloncS" in the
June number OF the very periodical now
under consideration, we find The following
striking statements:
"For the condensation Of any vlpOr what.
ever would present very much the same phe.
nomcna rs those with which we are familiar.
Let us suppose the earth Of such tempera-
tIlre as to keep iron in nearly the same con-
dition relatively rs water Is now--tnat Is,
partly vapor floating in the atmosphere,
partly fluid gathered in oceans. l1ke>, and
rivers. aud partly like solid snow and ice rs
IN colder seasons and ATTITUDES. Evaporation
would 90 on at the surface of the mud iron
until the atmosphere became nearly 'ura-
ted. As soon as condensation began IN As
ccnding current would be formed. Towards
the bottom of this current the winds woud
rush in >pirals just AS they do now. As the
yapor OF iron rose aud came TO the strata ni
less and less pressure and temperature il
would expand, cool, and coudense. and de-
scend in molten showers Of liquid metal. Or,
If the temperature were lew enough, or the
summit OF the storm high enough, a shower
of iron bail or snow would be the result"
Now, that description Of the process of
raining iron upon the earth is just what pro.
badly takes place in the sun. The sptc,ro-
scope tells us that that iumiuary burns
metals Of various kinds. These metals may
be kept by heat "in nearly the same condi-
ton relatively rs water " is kept in upon the
carth-"thal is, partly vapor floating in the
atmosphere, partly fluid gathered in oceans,
lakes, and rivers, and partly like solid snow
and ice." The heat of the sun evaporates
these metals, and drives them hundreds Of
thousands Of miles from the suns centre,
but when they condense" they fall back
into the flames, which are thus perpetualy
fed by material which perpetually renews it,
SELF after being burned, and perpetually falls
back to be burned over again. In word,
us nothing can be annihilated, it is clear that
the sun annihiatcs nothing By burning it..
Whatever is burned may resume the form it
bad before beiug burned. And If so, and il
it can then get back to the point where it was
burned, then the sun may be Self-sustaiuing
But what diversion! Let US return to
our monthly. An article taken from Mac
miHa"'s Magazine, on " The Deeper Har-
monies of Science and Religion" will be
found interesting. Other instructive apd in.
teresting contributions will be found in the
illustrated biography of Bird" by EARN
EST ISGEKsoLL; "Recent Polar Eyplora.
tlons," translated from the French by Miss
CONVERSE; "The Australian Fever Tree" a
translation from Das husband; and these
are but part of the rich contents of the No.
The editor from his table criticses, and with
much apparent force, the proceedings of the
"Association for the Promotion of Social
Science" held in Detroit in May last. He
thinks that that Society has the wrong name,
and that it should either change its title or
else do the work Of Social.science asSocia.
ton.
Governor Fayette McMulIn is understood
to be candidate for the Legislature from
Srnpth county With all personal respect for