302 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [Apuit^ 



By C. T. Hermann. P. 391. A translation of this interesting 

 paper will be found in the present and the preceding Number of the 

 Annals of Philosophy. 



27. On the Distribution of the Population of Russia. By C. T. 

 Hermann. P. 437- This paper contains so much valuable infor- 

 mation that I consider it as highly worthy the perusal of the English 

 reader. I shall therefore insert a translation of it either in the 

 next Number of the Annals of Philosophy^ or into the first suc- 

 ceeding Number in which space for it can be afforded. These two 

 papers will put it in th6 power of the reader to draw pretty exact 

 conclusions respecting the internal state of Russia, and the rank 

 which she is capable of holding in the great European Republic. 



Article XII. 



Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. 



ROYAL SOCIETY. 



On Thursday the 24th of February, a paper was read from Dr. 

 Herchell, consisting of an arranged set of observations to enable 

 astronomers to judge of the probability of his opinion respecting the 

 origin of stars. It is well known to most of our readers, that Dr. 

 Herschell has discovered and described a prodigious number of 

 nebulosities in the heavens, and that he has been induced to con- 

 clude from his observations, that these nebulosities gradually collect 

 together, and in that way form stars. The object of the present 

 paper is still further to elucidate and confirm this opinion. Some- 

 times nebulosities appear all of equal brightness, exhibiting a milky 

 whiteness every where alike, sometimes they are brightest towards 

 the centre, sometimes a luminous spot appears in the centre, and 

 sometimes there is a distinct star. The Doctor conceives that these 

 are the gradual steps of the star-making process. In like manner 

 two stars are frequently seen with a nebulous matter between them. 

 But it would be difficult to give a connected view of the numerous 

 observations, which were not very intimately connected together; 

 though they exhibit all that ingenuity and all that originality of 

 thinking for which Dr. Herchell is so conspicuous. He showed 

 that the light of the stars differs as much from each other as that 

 of the planets, and he conceives the stars to be opaque globes sur- 

 rounded with luminous atmospheres like the sun ; and sees no rea- 

 son why they may not be inhabited. One set of his obser\'ations 

 seemed to me rather hostile to his hypothesis. He showed that 

 many of the nebulte, when examined by very powerful telescopes, 

 were found to be clusters of stars : hence a probable inference 

 seems to be, that if our telescopes were sufficiently powerful, 

 we should discover the whole of the nebulae to be in the same 

 predicament. 



Qn Thursday the third of March the remainder of Dr. Herchell's 



