Year: 1877


Reasons for Believing that the Planet il


Inhabited.


The conditions which favor the belief
in the existence of life in the planet
Mars present the clearest possible evil
dence OF being one in origin and structure
with our own earth. We cannot tell
what the nature of the soil of Mars NAV
be, but its generally ruddy tinge-so
well marked that, though the telescope
shows an almost equal part of the surface
to be greenish in hue, the red prevails.
giving to the planet, as seen by the naked
eye, its obvious red cOlOr-seems to show
that it resembles the red sandstone of
our own earth. This, we know, is one of
the older geological formations, and if we
could safely compare terrestrial with
Martian geology, or, let us say, geology
with aerOlOgy, we might almost be
tempted to find in the present prevalence
OF tint belonging to one of the earlier
of our terrestrial formation an argument
IN favor of the theory that Mars passed
through fewer stages of development
during its life bearing condition than
our earth, and that thus the later forma-
tiOns of our eaTth's surface are wanting
in the surface of Mars. This reasoning
would not be very safe, however, it i'm
pllCo'S ECSCElDldl1C0 III ucLdtIS WHICH Is
not likely, the observed rule of nature
seeming so far as we can judge, to be
similarity in generals, variety in details.
We may well believe that the ruddiness
of the soil of Mars is due to the same
general cause as the ruddiness of our
red sandstOne-the general prevalence of
certain organisms-but neither the actual
character of this particular formation,
nor its position in the territorial series Of
strata can be safely predicted of the
ruddy formation constituting the chief
part of the visible land surface of Mars
Few will now suppose with a French
writer that the ruddiness of Mars is due
to the color of the vegetation there. A
certain support is given to the idea BY
the circumstance that the degree of rud-
diness is variable, and is somewhat
greater during the Martain summer than
in spring and autumn. In this sense we
may say of the summer of Mars with the
poet Wendell Holmes:


The SHOWS that glittered on the disc of Mars


Have melted and the planets fiery orb


Rolls in the crimson summer of its year.


But the ruddiness of the planets sum-
mer-which will be well marked this
year, for on September 18, only eleven
days after its time of nearest approach
and greatest splendor, it will be mid
summers day for the southern half of
Mars-can be otherwise and better ex-
planned than by sUpposing that the
Martian forests glow with fiery foliage
during the summer days. We can see,
as the summer proceeds, the white mists
which had hidden the planets lands and
seas breaking up, and the features of the
surface being gradually revealed with
more and more distinctness. It is to the
disappearance of these mists and clouds,
not to the red leaves of Martian trees.
that the change in the plants color must
most probably be referred. We have less
reason for doubt as to the nature of the
greenish markings. The spectroscope, as
we have already explained in "Life in
Mars" shows that the air of Mars is at
times laden heavily with the vapor of
water. We can no longer, therefore,
follow Whewell in doubling the real ma
tuTe of the green parts of the planet, or
refuse with MIN to accept explanation of
the white polar marking long since ad-
vanced by Sir w. Herschel. UDdOubt-
edly wide seas and oceans, with many
straits and bays and inland seas, exist on
Mars. Snow and ice gather in the win
ter time about his polar regions, dimin-
ishing gradually in extent as summer
proceeds, but never entirely disappearing.
Thus we are not left doubtful as to the
general resemblance of Mars, so far as the
structure of mis- surface is concerned, to
the earth on which we live. He has a
surface of earth, probably in large part
formed by deposition at the bottom of
former seas and subsequently raised
above the sea level by ysubterranean forces,
or rather caused to appear above the
surface by the effects of the gradual
shrinkage of the planets crust CornhiH
Magazine.