BfluJom ilotc0 on latural listort). 



Vol. III. 



PROVIDENCE, DECEMBER 1, 1886. 



No. 12. 



Entered ai the Providence Post-Offiee as Second-Class Matter. 



A Monthly Devotbd to the Distribution of Use- 

 ful Knowledge Concern ing the Various De- 

 partments OF Zoology, Mineralogy, and 

 Botany. 50 Cents a Year. 



Address all communicrttions; to 



JAMES M. SOUTHWICK, 



358 Westminster St.. Providence, K.L, U.S.A. 



With this number, Random Notes on 

 Natural Histoky will have completed its 

 third year of issue, and will he discontinued 

 as !i regular publication. 



Some errors have appeared in its col- 

 umns which I trust, have been rectified in 

 later issues. On the subjects to which it 

 was devoted I have endeavored that it 

 should be comprehensive and explicit, espe- 

 cially as regards Rhode Island natural his- 

 tory . 



From the first, as I anticipated, the ex- 

 penses of its issue have been in excess of 

 the subscriptions. 



Thousands of sample copies have been 

 distributed. 



I desire to express my thanks to those 

 whose regular subscriptions have shown 

 their appreciation of my efforts to present 

 articles that should be popular so far as 

 could be consistent with accurac}". 



Whilst regretting to leave unfinished the 

 very able articles upon the raollusca and the 

 trees of Rhode Island, there yet seems to 

 me no special need for this publication ex- 

 cept to advertise my business. 



In view of the numberless claims upon 

 m>' time by mj- constantly increasing busi- 

 ness, I can now do this to better advan- 

 tage through c>ther channels. 



If a sufficient number of subscriptions 

 can be obtained it is proposed to print dur- 

 ing the coming year the " Shell -txvaring 

 Mollusca of Rhode Island," by Mr. H. F. 

 Carpenter, complete,^ in book form. The 

 price will be $2. UO per volume. Subscribers 

 are not expected to pay until the work is 

 ready to be isisued. 



The Nebular Hypothesis. 



BY E. a. plum. 



In endeavoring to explain the formation of 

 the solar system, scientists have advanced 

 many theories; one of whicli, called the 

 nebular hypothesis, bids fair to develop 

 into an established fact. This theory sup- 

 poses the system to have existed originally 

 in the form of a vast cloud of igneous va- 

 por, " witliout form and void" and in condens- 

 ing gradually, to have assumed the form 

 of a greatly flattened spheroid, from which 

 the sun and all the planets were evolved. 



Immanuel Kant, one of the greatest of 

 the world's metaphysicians, was probably 

 the first to advance this theorj' in its unde- 

 veloped form ; but we must credit that 

 great Frencli scientist, Laplace, with having 

 presented it to the world in its present fin- 

 ished form, and also with having brought 

 about its almost universal popularity. The 

 more we study the writings of Laplace on 

 this subject, the more are we impressed 

 with the grandeur of this theory, and the 

 more are we convinced that it is the true 

 solution of a great problem that has puz- 

 zled philosophers of all ages. 



In order that we may better understand 

 the nebular hypothesis as it is now be- 

 lieved, let us first briefly consider some of 

 the sti'iking peculiariti'^s of the solar sys- 

 tem. First, we find that all the planets 

 revolve around the sun in the same direc- 

 tion. Not only is this true of Mercuiy, 

 Venus, the Earth, INIars, Jupiter, Saturn, 

 Uranus, and Neptune, but it is also true of 

 a host of other small planets, all of which 

 are moving with mathematical precision 

 around a common centre. Again we learn 

 that each of these bodies has its orbit on 

 nearly the same plane, and all, including the 

 sun, have axial motions in a common direc- 

 tion. 



How shall we account for these remark- 

 able fa(;ts? If we ask the question, coidd 

 all this have happened by chance, our rea- 

 son answers, no ; but reason working 

 through the minds of such men as Laplace 



