478 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the congress had formerly more time 

 to cultivate the society of men of sci- 

 ence than at present, and perhaps men 

 of science could then also better spare 

 the time. The scientific men under the 

 government are now more highly re- 

 garded than ever before. Some years 

 ago they were looked upon as seekers 

 after public patronage and viewed with 

 a certain suspicion. Now they are 

 treated as members of the government, 

 not less essential than officers of the 

 army. In a recent debate in the senate 

 on the organization of a new depart- 

 ment of commerce, no senator was able 

 to say to what political party the pres- 

 ent head of the bureau of labor belongs, 

 but all agreed that his advice was of 

 special importance in framing the bill. 

 When the government employs skilled 

 experts in all departments, it no longer 

 requires the advice of an academy of 

 sciences. We should like to see the 

 National Academy entrusted with cer- 

 tain definite functions and we should 

 like to see scientific men treated with 

 even greater respect than at present, 

 but on the whole the necessary condi- 

 tions of a democracy and of an age of 

 specialization do not seem to be un- 

 favorable to scientific work. 



WORK OF THE ECLIPSE EXPEDI- 

 TIONS. 

 The director of the Lick Observatory 

 has recently announced that the re- 

 markable coronal disturbance, which 

 was one of the notable features of the 

 Sumatra eclipse, has been found, by 

 Professor Perrine, to be above the 

 prominent and only sunspot visible 

 during eleven days. This interesting 

 discovery emphasizes the fact that re- 

 sults of much value can sometimes be 

 obtained at eclipses, even when the sun 

 is covered by thin clouds. It will be 

 remembered that a total eclipse of the 

 sun occurred on May 17, 1901. The 

 duration of the eclipse was so long, and 

 the possibilities of valuable work so 

 great, that many parties from difi"erent 

 countries visited Sumatra, Mauritius, 



and other islands in the path of 

 totality. Early reports announced that 

 failure was general on account of 

 clouds. Later reports, however, by the 

 directors of the different parties, show 

 that, while many observers accom- 

 plished little or nothing, others ob- 

 tained satisfactory results. Taken alto- 

 gether the observations are of high 

 value, and will justify the expense in- 

 curred. Congress made a generous, if 

 somewhat tardy, appropriation for the 

 observance of this eclipse, and a party 

 was sent out, in charge of Professor A. 

 N. Skinner, embracing six members of 

 the Naval Observatory, and five others. 

 Professor Skinner very wisely decided 

 to divide his party into several divi- 

 sions. The main party, including him- 

 self and Professor Barnard, were sta- 

 tioned at Solok, which seemed to offer 

 the best chance for a clear sky. At the 

 same place were Messrs. Abbott and 

 Draper, of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 and some English astronomers. Little 

 of value was obtained at Solok, owing 

 to clouds. One of the smaller parties, 

 however, at Sawah-Loento, a short dis- 

 tance to the east, had better success. 

 Results of high value were obtained by 

 Dr. Mitchell, of Columbia University, 

 and by Professors Burton and Smith, 

 of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 

 nology. Perhaps the only place where 

 a perfectly clear sky was found was at 

 Fort de Kock, and fine photographs 

 were there made by Dr. W. J. Hum- 

 phreys, of the University of Virginia, 

 and by Mr. G. H. Peters, of the Naval 

 Observatory. The party sent out by the 

 Lick Observatory, in charge of Pro- 

 fessor Perrine, was stationed at Pa- 

 dang. Throughout the totality thin 

 clouds covered the sun. These clouds 

 undoubtedly interfered with some of the 

 photographic results, especially those 

 which were concerned with the search 

 for an intra-mercurial planet. But the 

 polariscopic and spectroscopic results, 

 as well as the photographs of the inner 

 and middle corona appeared to be only 

 slightly affected by the clouds. The 



