The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31


is evidenced in these curricula, The Amer-
can courses are more practical in, character
even recommended In the German. plan. and
Tb o. tss time 10
less time to mathematics. and perhaps there
may he a loss Of I'wer in mature life on this
H.
programme. The whole paper is full o:
interest.
ENERGY PROM RADIOACTIVE BODIES
Prof. J. j. Thompson has raised the aues-
ton: How long may the emission of energy
by radium be expected to continue Mr..
r. J. Strut remarks. in Nature, No. l7is that
il would he OF great importance to determine,
if possible. whether radium. az contained in
ptchblende. ents as much energy az the
same amount OF the material in the form Of
an art6cially concentrated product The
mineral must be supposed to have been in
existence. in its present condition. for period
Of time comparable with the &c Of the earth
nsnsGi iey s" SsTe Ss than sased Ns sctyy
| onaby assume that it has been libernting
so, 900 900 years. A determination OF the
| amount OF energy thus emitted would teach
us much more than the most careful and
protracted observations on powerful radium
sheSsh d!f}euisi IN i. MT ipnraesieaSIs 4
very large DNCk Oh pltVnDlenue might DO
used. and a thermo-couple inserted within
It. at it's centre. rough calculation shows
that the rise Of temperature to be expected
suggested would be 30 instructive that It is
to be hoped that it may be carried out.
THEORY OF SOLAR PRRIoDIcITY
According to NJ. Hahn the periodicity of
solar phenomena is eHplicnble by a theory
whose grand lines are as follows: The sun
cools by radiation and is heated by the pro-
eressive contraction OF its mass Thermal
equilibrium is reached when the gain and
which surrounds the photosphere will. how
ever, prevent the maintenance of sucn an
equilibrium. for as cooilns goes on the en-
yeG III X t%. md binders
from the interior result by which The eouil-
captions. translated into mathematician
form. constitute the basis Of NJ Halm's
theory.
THE RELATION RETwEEN CROPS AND SOILS
Mr.. W j. spmnn. speaking of the hay
and fora e crops in the United Sta tos. brou eht
out the remarkable fact that by far the
larger part Of these crops is produced
on the glacial drift; and also that on e-fourth
Of the total hay and forage Is produced from
wild grasses; and that OF the wild grasses
thus utilized no one has yet been brought
into. cultivation. The princina reason Tor
Quality, The Kentucky. blue grass is con-
OF the State, where the dolomitic linestones
The ee Grass Il. oes sn sat. sas y
more or less closely confined to the soils OF
the creta ceons. The importance Of increns-
soils OF the cotton belt which have become
depleted was insisted on.
TERRESTRIAL GASES IN THE cHRoMosPHEsE
Owing to their proved relationship to
helium, Prof Mitchell Of Columbia University
suspected that the recently discovered ga SEES
neon. argon. krypton and xenon-mght
exist in the suns chroniosphere. To test
his suppostion be compared their spectra
with the spsctra nhotGgra phsd at The Snmstra
due TO neon and argoh are present IN the
eclipse spectrum but the evidence with 20
spect to the lines Of krypton and Aen OH Was
The author suggests that all these gases
may have come to the earth's ntnusphers
from the sun. according 70 the theory that
one sun TO another being rspeed by the
pressure OF light 50 ."
STORY or A CANARY AND RULiFINcH.
tieorg Henschel in Nature tells story of
bullfinch and q canary that deserves perma-
nent record The bullfnch belongs to his
sister and can pipe the whole Of several tunes.
God save the King among them. The
canaIys cage T S IN the same sSSoh r. and u
of God save the King" from the bullfnch
md often, .piped !, independentlY. M
Henschei lately heard the bpi ,hnE ply, pipe
To his amazement the canary took up the
tune where the other had left it and finished
the tune eight harsh At this time the two
Nothing could be more authentic than the
story. or more amazing.