The Indianapolis journal., 1903-08-02

more luxuriant growth of the vegetation
at this period. which is true just after the
lunar midsummer.
not dense as that surrounding the earth,
but still quite ample TO explode the theory
that there is none there. is shown by the
faint twilight. The rarity Of this lunar at
mosphere would give somewhat the same
temperature effects that are observed I'm
the very light attitudes of the earth, as In
the Andes mountains, for instance. Trav-
elers in these latitudes have given descrip-
tions of how intense that heat is in the
sunshine. while a remarkable lowering of
the temperature is found just across the
line of the shadow. This condition of rare
atmosphere on the moon would give in the
lunar summer intense heat that our
summer times do not know, and in the
shadow of the night there would be a tenn
perature lower than anything experienced
on this planet.
THEORY OF HEAT AND COLD.
"The extreme cold of the lunar winter
has been one of the arguments used to
combat the theory that there is vegetable
life in luxuriance and consequently animal
life on the moon. 1t is not so many years
since the scientists told the world that no
life could be found in the sea below GER
tain specified depth, and the argument
showing why this was true was, for time.
entirely satisfactory to the scientists and
the public. This was a theory merely,
however, and when the deep sea dredges
of curious investigators went below the
dead line which science had drawn, fishes
and other sea animals were brought to the
surface. The world for thousands of years
believed that nothing could live there, but
in spite of this belief and the logical theses
which supported it these deep-sea animals
had life and died and never a life was
shortened or heightened by reason of this
false theory.
There are abundant examples of the fact
that the most intense cold does not neces-
sarily destroy vegetable germs, though
theorists say they must be destroyed by the
lunar winter. l have myself subjected the
germs of ordinary wheat to the degree of
cold equal TO 20 degrees below zero and
then planted them and they sprouted and
grew thriftily. BY means of Hquified air
vegetable seeds have been subjected to
even greater degrees of cold and for
long time, then planted and they showed
growth and life unimpaired by the test OF
cold. 1t hardly seems necessary to point
out the reasonable theory that the plant
and animal life of the moon is such as has
adapted itself to the different conditions
existing there. and the ability of organic
life to adapt itself to varied environments
is amply proven to be equal to almost any
surrounding.
''It does not seem to agree with the ordi-
nary rules Of common sense that there
should be an immense planet like the moon
with the conditions of warmth, moisture,
atmosphere, VegetatlonS and regular sea-
sons, but no animal life. 1t would not be
improbable that there are beings somewhat
similar to ourselves on that planet. / do
not doubt that the time is not far off when
the small degree of information have
will be added to very materially by the
of improved instruments and through the
abandonment of old theories and prejudices
which have been more effectual than the
defects In their lenses in preventing astron-
omers from seeing the things as they are.
The aid of my telescope was very great in
the matter of the original discovery of
vegetation spots and the subsequent dis
coyery of others.
1.-The astronomers at the time of the dis
cussion of the discovery of vegetation on
the moon were not disposed to consider
my invention or arrangement of the tele-
scope as worthy of notice. This never
bothered me, for / knew what telescopes
were and what the largest of those could
do ana what my own seven-inch one did.
Scientific men are, a rule, conserva-
tive TO the point of stagnation. Anything
that upsets pet theory and necessitates
the rewriting of the scientific formulas is
distressing and distaSteful to them. To this
is ascribed the refusal of some of the
astronomers to look upon my telescope in