18 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



" The same observer, and the writer also, saw both II lines 

 (calcium) brightly reversed in the spectrum of the chromo- 

 sphere; thus confirming observations made six years ago at 

 Sherman, but never corroborated since, except by the photo- 

 graphic spectrum obtained by the Siam expedition in 1875. 



"The exquisite reversal of the dark Fraunhofer lines at 

 the moment of totality was seen by many of the observers. 

 One observer, at least (and we believe some others), Profess- 

 or Barker, at Rawlins, was able to confirm Janssen's observa- 

 tion in 1871 by seeing the principal dark Fraunhofer lines 

 in the corona spectrum, thus showing that a considerable 

 percentage of the coronal radiance is mere reflected sunlight. 

 The dark lines were, however, so faint as to be seen by very 

 few, and this shows equally clearly, we think, that the parti- 

 cles which reflected the sunlight are themselves also self-lu- 

 minous, as, of course, they ought to be so near the sun. 



"A great deal of attention has been paid to the polariza- 

 tion of the coronal light in past eclipses, and while on the 

 whole there has been an overwhelming weight of evidence 

 in favor of radial polarization, yet at every eclipse some ob- 

 server of reputation has obtained anomalous results quite at 

 variance with all the others. This year Dr. Hastings, of Bal- 

 timore, comes out with strong tangential polarization as his 

 result. The rest of the observers Wright, Ran yard, Iiark- 

 ness, and others are emphatic and clear in their contrary 

 conclusion. 



"Experiments with the tasimeter, or new heat-measurer, of 

 Mr. Edison showed, as was ascertained many years ago, that 

 the heat of the corona is quite sensible. With a thermopile 

 attached to a peculiarly arranged spectroscope, Mr. Ander- 

 son, of the Princeton party, obtained a doubtful result, which 

 may indicate a bright heat-line in that part of the chromo- 

 sphere spectrum below the red. 



"It has been represented that the results of this eclipse 

 require a fundamental reconstruction of the theories hitherto 

 held regarding the constitution of the corona. This is, how- 

 ever, an entire misapprehension. The same constituents ap- 

 pear in the corona as hitherto, only in altered proportions, 

 as might have been, and was, expected by students of solar 

 physics. In 18G9, 1870, and 1871 the gaseous elements of 

 the corona the hydrogen and '1474 stuff,' whatever that 



