Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-07-05
ON TIE PLANET MARS.
THE CANALS A LONG KNOWN MYS-
Terry OF THE HEAVENS.

Mars taSoranky Situated TOT AstfOnont-
cal observatson-some Rather Curious
Facts What Liro on Our Neighbor
Planet Is Supposed To ne like.
N Berthelot. one of tho academicians.
is evidently light hearted savant, for he
at once asked nj. do Lesseps, who was
present at the meeting. ''if he had by
chance brother protector In Mars,
whereat all the learned astronomers
smiled solemnly. This is, surely. the
first time that a joke has been imported
from spot 81. 900, 600 miles off, which is
about the distance of the planet Mars
from our earth. The canals perceived b.
NJ. Perrotin upon the surface Of our next
outside neighbor In the solar system
however, are long known mystery of the
heavens. and one that is probably as far
as ever from being solved by the face
tious wizard.
Mars happens to be better situated for
observation by astronomers than any
other body in tho sky except the moon
He Is moro than hundred times farther
off than the moon at his very closest ap
proach, and measures only 4,200 miles
through at his equator; but, unlike the
moon, he exhibits in turn every portion
of his surface. rotating In a day which is
about half an hour longer than our own.
Thus the entire face of the planet Mars
has been pretty accurately mapped, and
presents a diversified aspect of large
patches of alternating lighter and darker
markings which may naturally suggest
the divisions of land and water At the
poles of Mars are extensive white regions.
which sometimes show up In the field of
the telescope with striking brilliancy and
clearness of definitions and since these
undergo periodic changes, occasionally
almost vanishing and then shining forth
again at Just the seasons when 1t would
be winter with the Martians, astronomers
had been led to call them lice caps" and
to believe that we actually behold the
Arctic and Antarctic polar seas of the
planet in the form of these little white
saucers stuck on each end Of the "star Of
war.
As for the canals with which NJ. Per
rotin poked scientific fun at NJ de I.esseps.
they are certainly very curious objects
From sea tc sea. or what looks like ii,
run these straight passages. wearing an
appearance. no doubt. of some immense
artificial ,rk-some Panama or Suez
canal on colossal scale. They do not
alter or extend-there they always arel--
some Of them completed. others appar
emily imperfect, as If the Martian cham
Der of deputies had refused to sanction a
lottery loan for the fulfllment of the
original design But when NM. Perrotin
and Faye begin to talk of engineers"
and men ia Mars it is necessary to re
member that to be seen at all, even as q
hair line. these canals in Mars would have
to beat least 500 times as broad as the
Thames-say thirty or forty miles across
and as their length is to be rcckoned in
hundreds of miles, the navvies in Mars, If
they exist. must certainly be wonderful
beingsl
Astronomers. admirable on so many
points. are never so stupid and unimagin
ative as when meditating on the proba
bilities Of life beyond this earth. that old
and fascinating topic of more worlds
than one. They take their terrestrial
notions and experiences much too blindly
into spaceg they ask if there be an atmos.
phere in the moon. or water in Mars; and
If any doubts exist about these elements
they solemnly conclude that these and
other lovely and eligible celestial abodes
are tenantless. As If life were not con
ceivable without lungs and a liverl AS If
we must always carry about with us into
the glorious promotions of inter-stellar
space the dentist, the anti bilious pill and
bronchitis.
It Is true that for beings constructed
as we are at present Mars would be a
novel and rather q surprising kind of
abode. Supposing we found dense air
enough to breathe there, and water suffi
cient for tea and washing-which are
both dubious points-the diminished
grayitation of the little planet is so great
that it would induce a physical and
mental levity fatal to dullness aud for
bidding sense of fatigue. What is q
hundred weight here would there weigh
only fifty six pounds. and we could ell 60
up stairs Eve steps at a time. or jump
twice our own height with ease and grace
Then 1t would assuredly be very nice. If
we were living in the right latitude on
Mars. to have quick moon and a slow
moon, always careering round like splen
did Chinese lanterns, saving gas bills and
encouraging long walks of lovers and
Martial poetry fall from q horse
would seldom or never prove at all seri
ous in the Martial hunting fields: the
rider would rebound from the soft soil
like an India rubber cushion. Aerial
navigation has quite possibly been solved
long ago by the fortunate people of the
red planet. the conditions being so ex
tremely favorable. and who knows, IN
deed. whether the so called canals" arc
not vast tobogganing slides. where the
entire population enjoys the unwonted
sense of swift descent. and some little
spice of peril7 But we may be sure Of
this, That If there be sentient creatures
on the silver and pearl surfaces Of Mars.
they arc of O very different type from our
terrestrial frames, for life Is always tho
equation Of its surrounding conditions.
and we denizcns Of the earth have lungs
and larynx simply because we live al
the bottom Of an aerial sea. just as fsh
possess gilIs because they breathe the