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schoolbooks and science p/imers, so that really a child of ten or twelve, 

 and of ordinary intelligence, may become acquainted in the most 

 interesting manner with the elements of science in its various branches. 



I venture to express the hope that the occasion of this meeting will 

 be made of great use for the good of our Society. Although we have a 

 large number of members, we are anxious to increase them. We are 

 always happy and willing to receive young men — students who are 

 just beginning to interest themselves in science. We should also be 

 glad of a few more men of advanced and cultivated mind, and there 

 ought to be many of these in such a town as Brighton. Men who 

 have devoted time and attention to science, and who, having come to 

 settle here, ought as far as possible to identify themselves with the 

 town through our Society. In these days of shifting opinions and 

 progressive intellectual development, it is of the highest importance 

 that our young men should have their minds trained to exact habits 

 of thought. I think the study of one or more branches of natural 

 history one of the best means of cultivating a careful and correct judg- 

 ment. It is, perhaps, impossible to give oneself to the study of scien- 

 tific facts without unconsciously acquiring a love of impartiality and 

 truth. Science is advancing with such strides that it is difficult to keep 

 pace with the discoveries made from time to time. I would allude in 

 particular to Mr. Crook's experiments on the dynamic force of light. He 

 allows the light to penetrate through a glass vessel under which, itt 

 vacuo, is suspended a spiral thread of glass, with a small steel weight 

 attached, and the twisting and untwisting of this spiral thread, as 

 registered upon the vessel, gives him the measure of the twisting 

 power exerted. Mr. Crook calculates the power exerted by the sun's 

 light is equal to 32 grains in the square foot, 57 tons on the square 

 mile, or three thousand million tons on the whole earth's surface. 

 This enormous repellent force, but for the far more powerful attractive 

 force of gravitation, would drive the earth off into space. This tre- 

 mendous statement must, however, be accepted with reserve, for it is 

 doubtful whether heat as well as light is not a factor in the experiment. 



I should like also to allude to Mr. Proctor's latest book on " Our 

 Place in the Infinities." After working on the subject for a long time, 

 he has come to the conclusion that Sirius, or the dog-star, is a giant sun, 

 with five attendant satellites. He says the latest appearance of Sirius 

 appears to suggest that in connection with this giant sun, as he terms 



