The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-09

siblc to %eNtinguish the fire by seal
ing tho mine workings and e%Xhausting
the supply of oxygen. 1T is necessary
however to keep the mine scaled I'M
til the burning timbers ~ coal and
the red hot rocks have become cool,
or the fire will break out again. This
sometimes requires two or three
months.
Where an effective sealing of the
mine is impracticable ii is sometimes
possible to cNtinguish the fire from
the outside of the mine by constructing
Il large reservoir OIL tan in the upper
part of the mine shaft and suddenly
opening discharge doors. The mass ot
water falling down the shaft is CON
vcrted into spray which is carried by
the force of the fall long distances in
to the workings. Where the fire is in
or near the shaft this method has
proved Very effective"
The late Simon Ncwcomb. the great
est astronomer Of recent years. who
wrote the chief astronomical articles
for the new encyclopaedia. discusses
Prof. I.owcll's theory of life IN Mars
and his general conclusion is that
Prof. Lowell has advanced evidence
that his critics cannot disprovc and
that no fair minded semitic man can
ignore. Prof. Lowell himself contrib
utSS IL summary W JHe researches anu
discoveries made at Flagstaff obser-
vatory.
1t is not generally understood that {,
great deal of the unrcasoning hostil-
ity. With which in Europe Prof. Low
ellis first announcements of his OBJ
servations were received sprang from
u mere verbal misunderstanding.
Schiaparelli. the Italian a%strono-
mer. observed years ago that there
V-arn 1rnfr CT ira, whit 1innc ~, thu Sup..
face of Mars which he described by
the Italian word ''canale'' meaning
channels. Just as an old fashioned ear
penter would use the word channels
to describe grooves in which u door
was arranged to slide.
Both in France and England it was
supposed that Schiaparclli had used
ian sense. that of which the English
word Canals is a literal transla-
ton. Therefore. long before any as
tronomer of standing had really orm-
ed the conjecture that there might be
life on Mars, this n use of
the o ''canale" was construed by
the ignorant as meaning that there
actually existed on the surface of Mars
annals which showed the existence
Of Intelligent beings.
Up to hat time and indeed until
the magnificent telescope was erect
ed in the clear Arizona air, no as
tronomcr had been able to observe
Mars SO accurately as to form An idea
whether these lines We're i'll fact so
straight and so continuous as to in
dictate that they must be the fruit of
purposive labor.
All the men who were in a position
to express an authoritative opinion at
once saw how the mistaken belief had
arisen from a misleading of sschiapcr-
ellis words. and 1t was soon in every
hody's mouth TO ridicule the idea of
there being anything on the surface
of Mars that could with propriety be
called Il canal.
Prof. Lowcll's discovery was that
these lines We're in fact straight and
continuous and that they did in fact
clearly indicate intelligent labor, but.
as he found the lines to be many miles
In midth. he for "a moment sup
posed that they were canals, since it
woul be absolutely useless. ever If it
were feasible to build either for the
purposes of irrigation or for the pur-
pose Of navigation, canals Of SO great
a width.
The very sound inference he drew
was that these lines were strips of
green vegetation, miles in width and
standing out In sharp contrast to the
vast sandy plains on either side. OBJ
viOusly. II in a vast tract of arid land
there is n strip of some miles in width
of trees or field crops. and that line
is geOmetrically straight, SO that It
could not be supposed to be a natural
course Of a river. this long narrow
strip of fertility must lie on the banks
Of an irrigating canal.
1t been shown that there Is no
rainfall on the surface Of Mars and
no such suspended moisture in the
atmosphere of the greater part of
Mars as could support any growth. On
the two polar caps Of Mars there Is an
amount of moisture which precipitates
in the form Of snow and in due sea-
son melts.
The indications thus are that an
elaborate network Of irrigating canals
spreads from the two polar caps OF
Mars. carrying the water an enormous
distance to where there ID ample
warmth to encourage vegetation but
where there was naturally no water
supply.
Unfortunately the word canals his
found Its way into the current speech
Of Astronomers as a convenient nsme
for the lines discovered by Echlapar-
ELF. The word. as now used by them,
no more means that these lines, miles
In width, are real canals than does the
phrase Orion's belt or Gaturn's rings
refer to q waist belt. or q finger ring.
Confusion was thus created in the pub.
lie mind.
The enormous part that mere at
mosphere absorption Ueaving aside
Clouds and other local cOnditions)