The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-31
IN THE CAUSE OF SCIENCE.
Psychological Phenomena as Regarded
BY a Scientific investigator.
Papers on the Geology Of the Niagara River,
the MiHor Planets and Glacial Drifts
Tell Of MarvelS Of Research.

Win u large atteuuaDce, luCluulnk many AIOm
the city whose interest is of the popular kind
that takes in anything tending to broaden knowl-
edge. They do not want the professors TO keep
all they find out within the limit of purely scien-
tiGc circles, and. although the papers were more
or less favored with technical treatment, the
readers had no listeners more attentive than the
casual visitors to the academy. In this organi-
cation there is no squabbling about business de-
tails. Controversy, if any, is saved for battling
against theories and conclusions; hence, what
ever the business committees do, is accepted as
a settlement of the questions they may have in
hand. Officers for the ensuing year were elected
in this way, as follows:
President-J. NJ. Coulter, Charlottesville.
Vice-presidents-J p. ID. John; j. G. Branner,
Bloomington, and T. C. Mendenhal Terre Haute.
Secretary-A. W. Butler, Brookville.
Treasurer-O. 2. jenkins, Terre Haute.
The constitution was amended by changing
the admission fee to So, and the annual dues
to ST..
The first discussion of the morning followed
the paper of W. A. Noyes on Oxidation of
Paraxylene Sulphamide by Potassium Ferri-
cyanide" 1t was not of a character to absorb
the interest of any but chemists or those some.
what acquainted with the wonders of that
science. Prof. II. W. Wiley, however, caught
the popular as we'll as the scientific ear with
his study of Psychic Phenomena" Relating
to the universal belief of the Immortality of
the soul. he said, ''belief is not evidence of its
truth, but if he seeks q cause for this belief he
finds it In h~eredity. Aside from this, Plato's
arguments are as good as any, but he cannot
SEQ how an intelligent mind can build argument
| fo~ ;r ~ orta1;tv IN %ha rha1npoana nf cluirunu-
ance, mesmerism. thought or mind reading and
spiritualism. The phenomena classed as super
natural can be traced to the normal and alb
normal development OF one or more of the diff
ferent senses. He had observed w. Irving
Bishop. the mind-reader. and found that his
sense of feeling was abnormally developed.
He knew of others who could successfully per-
form many of the Bishop feats. All these phe-
nomena must be interpreted by scientific
methods and in harmony with established facts.
The morning readings closed with geological
papers by Professor Branner.
In the afternoon the class of entomology was
represented by a brief but interesting paper,
| ION the Thyaanura,n by r. +. Hight. Follow
ing this most of the themes related to geology, a
science that seems to have had, at this session
of the academy: more Investigators, professional
and otherwise, than the other branches. The
papers, too, appeared to have greater interest
for the listeners, and brought out more discus
sion. Natural Gas and Petroleum" received
comprehensive treatment from A. j. Phinney,
of Muncie. He followed these natural products
to their origin and showed their close relations
to each other. The Indiana fields had not been
developed to an extent to give them a wide State
interest, but in this feature of the paper the his
tory of the Kokomo wells supplied probabilities
of a larger extent of natural gas within the
limits of that section of Indiana. Prof. j. L.
Scovill, of Terre Haute, for some
time talked both of the geology of
Vigo county and ''The Niagara River"
Referring, under the latter theme, to the several
theories of the formation of that river channel,
he said that one of the scientific suggestions was
that the waters Of Lake Erie and Ontario were
together, but then n period of recession began.
Early in the century on actual surveys 1t was
estimate that this recession was at the rate of
q foot each year. A later survey extended it to
two and ope-half feet, and one completed this
| year shows the recession of the waters to be two
and a few bundredths feet per year. He doubted
that the present gorge was produced by the pres
eut river. but this continuous recession has
given a new channel to q new river. Accepting
! these periods of recession it is thought by some
| biologists that the present channel has not been
formed more than from 1000 to 0.000 years,
AID a few estimate the origin OF the present
channel and river as early as 5000 years ago.
But with all this he eaid that a channel from
lake Erie to lake Ontario had not been dis
/ Covered. To this a gentleman took exception
| and announced the discovery as a matter of
record.
For a few minutes geology was passed over to
| permit the reading Of an astronomical paper by
Prof. Daniel Kirkwood, Of Bloomington. This
referred to the zone of the minor planets which
lay within the orbit of Jupiter. There are 263
of these planets, nineteen of which were discoy-
cred during the past few years. Their periods
were from three to eight years. At an early
period there was great eccentricity of their or
bits, but then only one third of the present
number was known, and only ten appeared that
had a distance from the sun three times that be-
tween the earth and the solar center. Cans or
chasms are noted between, and these he attrib-
uted to the elimination OF the planets through
tha disturbing influences of Jupiter. In course
of time these minor planetary orbits become
eccentric elliptics when the planet returns to
the solar mass. This is the first order of common
suitability, and the second is found in
only two occurring points In the zone where the
planets in turn come into conjunction with Jupi-
ter. There are only nine instances when these
con1unctions occur at less than FIVE periods. He
did not attribute to chance the distribution of
these planets in the space they occupy. There was
only one chance in three hundred billions that
the distribution could have been accidental. In
any form of nebular processes the suns dimen-
sions were greater than Mt present. The sun is
contracting. Two or three comets have almost
grazed the sun as it Is at present, and if it could
extend TO the perihelion of Mercury the result
would be the grazing of that planet or its falling
into the solar mass.
Prof. C. r. Dryer, of Fort Wayne, had thirty
minutes to his credit to speak on the surface
geology of the Wabash-Erie divide, but.
! the nOur ueIHR late, II . COmpToaSou HIS
address within one-tbird that time.
His matter related chiefly to the moraines near
the headwaters of the Wabash and the valleys
of the Maumee and St. Joseph. The last named
river should have naturally sought an outlet
through the Wabash. It's course is directly to
that river until near Fort Wayne. when it turns
and seeks the Maumee. This is caused by the
moraine in that section. There are evidences of
an old Wabash channel from Huntington to
Fort Wayne and thence to Lake Erie. In this
| raviOu there are nartS of i've mOrainpS eausAd nv
the recession of the waters, and this he attrib-
uted to the oscillation of climatic Influences.
Prof. o. p. Hay, of Irvington, used a few
minutes in explaining his theory of the manner
of deposit of the glacial drift. at the close of
which the academy adjourned until its session
on the 18th of May. next. at q place to be Sc
lected by the executive committee.