The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1902-11-12
sL,lNIe AND INDJsraG

sL,INIe AND NDJSraG
NJ. Deslandres of the Paris observa-
tory has been experimenting during
the past year with a new spectruscopic
method of determining the rotation pc
riod of the planets. In the case of
Uranus II has been shown that the ro-
tation is retrograde; that is, from east
to west instead of from west to east
The details of his observations have
not yet been published.
Starless parts of the sky are not
dark. At the Lowe observatory In
California MIR. Edgar Iarkin states,
the stellar floor" the background of
the visible universe, has been proven
to be vast sheet of minute stellar
points of varying degrees of bright
ness. with here and there a rift SEEM
ing to reveal the blackness of outer
space. II is thought that the universe
may be far larger than is commonly
believed.
The butterfly is stated by an Eng
llsh writer to sleep on the very top
of grass stems, invariably with its
head downward and its eyes looking
toward the roots of the plant. Its
wings are folded to the smallest posi-
BILE size. This is. doubtless, chiefly
for protection against cdd, but 1t re-
duces the dimensions to those of
narrow ridge, making the creature re-
semble in shape as well as color the
seed-heads on surrounding stems.
The terror of cattle, dogs and wild
animals before the eruption of Mont
Pelee adds to the evidence that the
senses of the lover animnls are unlike
our own. The late Professor s. Sekiya
of TOXIC kept pheasants to study their
behavior before an earthquake, and
Prof. John Milne testifies that their
screaming often gave notice of pre-.
liminary tremors of an earthquake
that were unfelt by human beings.
This being the case. It seems not un-
likely that the creatures on Mont Pc
lee heard sounds and felt vibrations
not perceptible to man.
Poisoning by shell-fish Is not yet
fully understood. Professor Thesen of
Norway finds that It is not due to the
substance on which they grow-such
as the copper sheathing OF vessels
but that 1t depends on impure water.
The poison, however. does not seem to
| be produced by bacteria. 1t is con.
| cluded that the impurities OF the water
even such poisons as strychnine and
curare-are readily absorbed and
stored away by the mollusks. but that
the storing is only temporary fol-
| mollusks In foul water are not at all
| times poisonous. Whether the poi.
sons are made harmless or are re,
turned to the water unchanged re-
mains to be proven.
One of the latest of the many specu.
| lative notions regarding the galaxy,
which has thus far proved an unsolv-
able enigma for astronomers, is that
1t revolves, or at least that the indica.
| tions that It has a motion of revolu.
ton are so strong that astronomers
would do well to make a special effort
to decide this question. The matter is
discussed at some length in Popular
Astronomy, by Mr.. w. II. S. Monck,
who credits an American astronomical
writer, the late Professor Jacob En-.
mis-. with having first suggested the
idea. Mr.. Monck thinks that from a
study Of table of the proper mo-
tions" OF stars he has found some evil
dence OF such q movement, but ad-
mits the impossibility of deciding the
direction of the movement.