PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. Ixxi. 



moon through coloured screens have shown the presence of a 

 remarkable deposit round the crater of Aristarchus, which 

 may be sulphur, which, if proved, would settle the question 

 of the volcanic origin of these crater-like 'forms, which have 

 been attributed to the impact of huge meteorites, though if 

 this were the case why should our earth, with its greater 

 powers of attraction, not present similar features ? A 

 change, not at present explainable, was observed to take 

 place early in 1913, in one of the lunar craters, Eimmart, 

 which formerly at each lunation a white material seemed to 

 fill and overflow. This phenomenon is no longer visible, 

 and other differences have shown themselves, which in such 

 an unchanging body as the moon are very striking. Some 

 delicate observations undertaken to investigate the presence 

 of radium in the chromosphere of the sun have shewn that 

 radium and its emanation, neon, argon, krypton, and zenon, 

 are all probably absent from the chromosphere. The latest 

 theory of the formation of sunspots is that they are caused by 

 the impact of pieces of Saturn's rings struck off by the Leonid 

 meteors. This seems far-fetched, but like many other 

 wild-sounding theories has some basis of support. The year 

 1913 has been marked by an absence of sunspots more striking 

 than in any year since 1810 ; but as a large sunspot has lately 

 been developed the minimum period would seem to be at an 

 end. Preparations are being made for viewing the total 

 solar eclipse of Aug. 21 next, visible from Norway. The next 

 one visible from England will be in 1927, the last one seen 

 from this country having been in 1724. It is satisfactory to 

 learn that Canada will before long possess a very fine reflecting 

 telescope, with a mirror of 6ft. in diameter. 



METEOROLOGY. 



It would be difficult and not so satisfactory to consider the 

 weather for the past 12 months, starting backwards from 

 May, as all the weather statistics are made up to the end of 

 December. The mean temperature of 1913 was in excess of 



