﻿MAR. 
  4, 
  1922 
  proceedings: 
  Washington 
  academy 
  of 
  sciences 
  139 
  

  

  September 
  19, 
  1921.) 
  The 
  purpose 
  of 
  the 
  Hst 
  was 
  discussed 
  briefly 
  by 
  Doctor 
  

   Bowerman, 
  the 
  methods 
  of 
  compilation 
  and 
  editing 
  of 
  the 
  list 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Rob- 
  

   ert 
  B. 
  SoSMAN, 
  the 
  mathematical, 
  astronomical, 
  and 
  meteorological 
  books 
  by 
  

   Dr. 
  W. 
  J. 
  Humphreys, 
  the 
  mineralogical 
  and 
  petrological 
  books 
  by 
  Dr. 
  E. 
  T. 
  

   Wherry, 
  and 
  the 
  botanical 
  books 
  by 
  Dr. 
  H. 
  L. 
  ShanTz, 
  following 
  which 
  

   there 
  was 
  a 
  general 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  project 
  by 
  several 
  of 
  the 
  previous 
  

   speakers 
  and 
  by 
  Alfred 
  H. 
  Brooks, 
  W. 
  L. 
  Schmitt, 
  W. 
  D. 
  Coi^lins, 
  W. 
  H. 
  

   BixBY, 
  and 
  others. 
  

  

  Adjournment 
  was 
  then 
  taken 
  to 
  inspect 
  the 
  following 
  three 
  exhibits: 
  

   (1) 
  The 
  one 
  hundred 
  popular 
  books; 
  (2) 
  books 
  suggested 
  for 
  the 
  popular 
  

   list, 
  but 
  not 
  used; 
  (3) 
  books 
  suggested 
  for 
  a 
  proposed 
  list 
  of 
  readable 
  man- 
  

   uals 
  or 
  information 
  books, 
  such 
  as 
  a 
  specialist 
  in 
  one 
  field 
  would 
  recommend 
  

   to 
  another 
  investigator 
  who 
  was 
  quite 
  unfamiliar 
  with 
  that 
  field. 
  

  

  The 
  159th 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  was 
  held 
  jointly 
  with 
  the 
  Biological 
  

   Society 
  of 
  Washington 
  and 
  the 
  Botanical 
  Society 
  of 
  Washington 
  at 
  the 
  

   Cosmos 
  Club 
  the 
  evening 
  of 
  Saturday, 
  November 
  12, 
  1921. 
  Professor 
  

   Arthur 
  de 
  Jaczewski 
  delivered 
  an 
  address 
  on 
  The 
  Development 
  of 
  Mycology 
  

   and 
  Pathology 
  in 
  Russia. 
  He 
  was 
  followed 
  by 
  Prof. 
  Nicholas 
  I. 
  Vavilov, 
  who 
  

   spoke 
  upon 
  Russian 
  work 
  in 
  Genetics 
  and 
  Plant 
  Breeding. 
  Following 
  the 
  pre- 
  

   sentation 
  of 
  these 
  addresses 
  Dr. 
  Vernon 
  L. 
  Kellogg, 
  Permanent 
  Secretary 
  

   of 
  the 
  National 
  Research 
  Council, 
  Dr. 
  Erwin 
  F. 
  Smith, 
  and 
  others, 
  spoke 
  

   briefly 
  of 
  conditions 
  in 
  Russia 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  pleasant 
  and 
  mutually 
  beneficial 
  

   interrelations 
  of 
  Russian 
  and 
  American 
  scientists. 
  

  

  The 
  160th 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  was 
  held 
  at 
  the 
  Cosmos 
  Club, 
  the 
  

   evening 
  of 
  Thursday, 
  November 
  17, 
  1921, 
  at 
  8:15. 
  Dr. 
  H. 
  D. 
  Curtis, 
  

   Director 
  of 
  the 
  Allegheny 
  Observatory, 
  Pittsburgh, 
  delivered 
  a 
  popular 
  ad- 
  

   dress 
  on 
  The 
  Sun, 
  our 
  nearest 
  star. 
  

  

  In 
  introducing 
  the 
  subject, 
  the 
  speaker 
  stated 
  two 
  simple 
  equations: 
  

   (1) 
  Our 
  sun 
  = 
  a 
  star; 
  (2) 
  any 
  star 
  = 
  a 
  sun; 
  which, 
  though 
  simple, 
  are 
  apt 
  to 
  

   be 
  forgotten 
  when 
  one 
  contemplates 
  the 
  Milky 
  Way. 
  Our 
  own 
  sun 
  is 
  but 
  

   a 
  unit 
  in 
  a 
  collection 
  of 
  perhaps 
  a 
  thousand 
  million 
  closely 
  similar 
  suns 
  form- 
  

   ing 
  our 
  own 
  stellar 
  universe. 
  There 
  are, 
  perhaps, 
  a 
  million 
  other 
  stellar 
  uni- 
  

   verses, 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  our 
  own 
  and 
  each 
  with 
  a 
  billion 
  suns, 
  within 
  the 
  ken 
  of 
  

   our 
  great 
  telescopes. 
  Out 
  own 
  sun, 
  though 
  866,000 
  miles 
  in 
  diameter, 
  

   and 
  1,300,000 
  times 
  the 
  volume 
  of 
  our 
  earth, 
  is 
  a 
  relatively 
  insignificant 
  

   star, 
  which, 
  if 
  moved 
  to 
  the 
  distance 
  of 
  the 
  star 
  clouds 
  of 
  the 
  Milky 
  Way, 
  

   would 
  appear 
  merely 
  as 
  another 
  faint 
  point 
  of 
  light 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  rich 
  com- 
  

   plex. 
  The 
  mightiest 
  stars, 
  at 
  their 
  magnificent 
  distances 
  of 
  hundreds 
  or 
  

   thousands 
  of 
  light-years, 
  appear 
  no 
  larger 
  in 
  our 
  greatest 
  telescopes; 
  for 
  

   example, 
  Betelgeuse, 
  which 
  in 
  volume 
  would 
  probably 
  contain 
  27,000,000 
  

   globes 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  our 
  own. 
  

  

  The 
  speaker 
  discussed 
  recent 
  studies 
  of 
  the 
  Sun 
  — 
  advances 
  in 
  photography 
  

   and 
  spectroscopic 
  analysis, 
  and 
  their 
  bearing 
  on 
  unexplained 
  or 
  little 
  under- 
  

   stood 
  phenomena; 
  theories 
  designed 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  the 
  peculiar 
  law 
  of 
  ro- 
  

   tation 
  of 
  the 
  sun 
  ; 
  sun-spots 
  as 
  high-temperature 
  solar 
  storms 
  ; 
  their 
  periodic- 
  

   ity; 
  the 
  Sun 
  as 
  an 
  almost 
  infinitely 
  old 
  and 
  wonderfully 
  perfect 
  heat-engine 
  

   radiating 
  heat 
  at 
  a 
  temperature 
  of 
  between 
  5,000° 
  and 
  8,000° 
  C, 
  with 
  an 
  

   energy 
  of 
  about 
  75,000 
  horsepower 
  per 
  square 
  yard 
  of 
  sun 
  surface; 
  the 
  age 
  

   of 
  the 
  Sun, 
  and 
  hypotheses 
  bearing 
  upon 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  the 
  Sun's 
  heat; 
  the 
  

   wonderful 
  balance 
  of 
  forces 
  existing 
  within 
  the 
  Sun 
  ; 
  the 
  correlation 
  between 
  

   changes 
  in 
  heat 
  emission 
  and 
  terrestrial 
  climatology, 
  and 
  its 
  supremely 
  im- 
  

   portant 
  bearing 
  upon 
  the 
  origin 
  and 
  maintenance 
  of 
  terrestrial 
  life. 
  

  

  