TIIK 11K.\\'I-:NS l^.ROrGHT WITHIN DOORS 



3<J9 



"Children may readily l)cct)ine ac- 

 quainted with the constellations, and 

 may learn to know them so well that 

 recognizing them is easy wdien they 

 are seen in the open sky. As the sphere 

 rotates, the apparent motion of the s'ars 

 is reproduced with perfect accuracy. 

 They appear to rise, move westward, 

 set, and to follow precisely those 

 courses which they seem to follow dur- 

 ing the night. With the pointer, which 

 has a tiny flashlight at the farther end, 

 the instructor may point out accurate- 

 ly one star after another or one con- 

 stellation after another. 



"The sphere is imder electrical con- 

 trol, and may be set so that the stars 

 will appear just as they would appear 

 to an observer at any desired hour on 

 any night of the year. Similar spheres 

 could well be constructed for other lati- 

 tudes. The immediate practical value 

 in connection with the trainirg of men 

 in the Navy has been apprec ated by 

 the British Government, and a request 

 has been received for the construe' ion 

 of such a sphere at their naval training 

 station. Other museums and educa- 

 tional institutions in this country are 

 considering the installation of a celes- 

 tial sphere." 



It is a brilliant idea to bring the hea- 

 vens within doors and good especially 

 in crowded cities. When all the earth 

 is carried into the house in moving pic- 

 tures, when the best instrumental and 

 vocal music is supplied in the phono- 

 graph, when all kinds of food from all 

 parts of the earth are preserved in cans, 

 what else would one expect then to 

 have the heavens spread oitt within an 

 artificial sphere? I hope that this plan 

 will be adopted in other i)laces. Its 

 educational merit is real, and if it 1 ad 

 to the actual observation of the heavens 

 themselves, then it is really worth 

 while. 



But, aye, there's the rub ; yet I be- 

 lieve that people Avill in greater num- 

 bers become acquainted especially with 

 the winter constellations since that 

 may be done in a comfortable, well 

 warmed sphere. 



At the Sound Beach Observatory, 

 from which the entire roof rolls ofT, we 

 wear our greatcoat and oitr mittens. 

 This sphere is commendable, but one 

 of my weak points is that I prefer a 

 bit of beefsteak, although it mav be 



tough, to a cube of condensed, "pre- 

 digested" essence of cow ;and I actually 

 prefer to eat my scni]) with a spoon 

 rather than to receive it in the form of 

 a pill. Another of my weaknesses is 

 that I prefer to take my science 

 "straight," not diluted, not made easy, 

 not i^redigested, not in the form of a 

 jjatent tablet. I prefer to wear mittens 

 and "arctics," and see the real Saturn, 

 rather than to be seated in a steam heat- 

 ed sphere to see a picture and to wipe 

 the ])resperation from my "nolile brow" 

 while Saturn is handed to me in a silver 

 spoon and sugar-coated. May I be for- 

 given for my honest confession of week 

 points! Alas ! I have several. Pictures 

 of foreign countries are useful. Not 

 all of us can travel in foreign countries. 

 But are warmed, comfortably furnish- 

 ed, hollow spheres needed to show the 

 heavens above us? Perhaps they are. 

 If you want a good thing of the kind, 

 vou w'ill find it in Chicagfo. 



There is a feeling that there is a 

 secret which we have lost, and that it 

 is to be refound in nature. This feel- 

 ing points in the right direction. The 

 artificiality of our lives has deadened 

 us to a true appreciation of nature and 

 of the health of body and of mind 

 which nature fosters. . . . We need 

 to recover a sense of our kinship with 

 nature, and draw more life from her 

 bosom. We need to find again the lost 

 secret.^ — Abram Linwood Urban in 

 "My Garden of Dreams." 



Fairyland. 



Fairyland comes to us once every year, 

 But just for a very brief stay; 



Close watch we must keep on the mystical 

 signs, 

 For it might be in April, or May. 



Light gossamer wreaths, all of rainbow 

 hues, 

 That seem as if floating in air. 

 Are captured and held by each branchlet 

 and twig, 

 Iridescence is everywhere. 



Such wonder is only for fairy folk, 

 Rare beauty their right of dower; 

 But we ne'er can surprise them at revels 

 bright, 

 Unless we will watch every hour! 



— Emma Peirce. 



