The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
TO SHOW
THE STARS
IN MOTION
FlammariOn Sets His
Fine Camera to
Work.
Rather a Slow Process to
Catch All the
Sky.
Eventually He Will Put the
Picture on a Cinema
tograph.
FROM SUNSET TO DAWN,
The BehoIder Will Look at the Won
ders of Heaven as They
Pass.
Copyright. 1897, by James Gordon Bennett.

Paris, Dec 25.-M. Camille Flam-
marion is applying the cinematograph
to the purpose of teaching astronomy.
The we'll known astronomer has under
taken the task of cinematographing
the sky. He is we'll satisfied with the
results already obtained. The appar-
ent movement of the celestial bodies
is very slow, and NJ. Flammarion con-
tents himself with taking 1000 and 5000
photographs of the armament every
night when the sky is clear. He con-
tends that they will be amply sufti-
cient to show the motion of the moon,
stars and planets, without any per-
ceptible break in continuity.
The object glass he employs in his
Photographic apparatus is such as to
embrace $50 degrees, so that the whole
armament will be seen when the pho
tographs are put into the cinematO-
graph. He commences at dusk, when
the moon and stars appear as darkness
comes on. They appear one after an
other in proportion to their magnitude
and what can be seen of the rising of
the sun produces the inverse of the
phenomenon that is witnessed in even
ing. NJ. Flammarion intends to treat
the spots on the sun in the same way.
Much satisfaction has been caused
by the publication of statistics for 1896,
which show the population of France
to be increasing. In 1898 the number of
births only exceeded the deaths by
7146. In 1894 the excess rose to 1878,
which was also a trifiing figure for a
population of IS, 000,0 600, and which JUS
titled anxiety as regarded the future.
Nor did the alarm appear to be ground
less in 1895, for the number of deaths
that year exceeded the births by II 7S13.
For c-I,r Hof 10
there were $4,000 more births than
deaths. This gain has not been solely
obtained by decrease in deaths, but
also by a notable increase in births.
Captain Baure, the officer who re-
Gently escaped from the military fort
at. Marseilles, where he was awaiting
trial for various charges, was recap
tured, and committed suicide. On
escaping from prison he remained, dis
guised in Marseilles, but was identi-
fed by two detectives. When taken
before a police official Baure SWal-
lowed poison, supposed to be prusSic
acid, and died in a few minutes. The
deceased had been in the Spahis and
had done good service in the Soudan
and Senegal, but was ruined by eX
travagance. He was condemned to i'm
prisonment for two years by Paris
court, and was also to be tried in
Marseilles for Justification of accounts.
Leon DauQSI Will III a lew Qdy yS D6SlIl
work upon a life of his father, in which
he will pay less attention to the writer
than to the man.
There is every prospect of a consid-
cradle enlargement of Paris. The Min
lister of War has formally placed on the
table of the Chamber of Deputies the
draft of a bill for the complete disman-
tlement of that portion of the fortifi-
cations between Point Du Jour at An
teuil and the Gate of Pantin on the
eastern railway line. The work of de-
molition will occupy about three or
four years. The bastions to be pulled
down extend circularly for distance
of a little over ten miles. 1t is pro-
posed by the war office to sell the
ground occupied by the Notifications
and with the proceeds to build a new
series of forts farther off from the me-
tropolita and to perfect in other ways
the military defenses of the city.
Neither the Dreyfus- -Esterhazy case
nor the Panama trial aroused much in
terest this week Indeed, there have
been no new developments in either. 1t
is expected that Commandant Rava-
ria, who is conducting the Esterhazy
investigation, will hand in his report
to General Saussier early next week.
Mrs. J. w. Mackay, who has been
stopping at Biarritz, has left for Rome.