FARMERS' REGISTER 



000,000,000, or nearly ten thousand billions of 

 miles ; a distance so great, that light, which flies 

 at the raleol'tweive millions ol'niiles every minute, 

 would require one tiiousand six hundred and forty 

 years, before it could traverse this mighty interval ! 



Such is the explanation of that "apparently 

 irregular belt which appears only like an acci- 

 dental imge on the face (if ilie firmament^ B'lil- 

 lions ofmairnificent suns, where not a sparkle can 

 be disiinouished by human eye* ! 



And now, the doctor asks, what shall we say 

 if this vast assemblage of" starry systems be found 

 to be no more tliun a single nebula, of which se- 

 veral thousand, perhaps even richer in stars, have 

 already been discovered? and that it bears no 

 more proportion to the whole sideral heavens 

 than a small dusky speck which our telesco|)es 

 enable us to descry ! Such is the present theoiy, 

 and it is founded on most elaborate observations 

 by the first astronomers of modern limes. 



And here a calculation is entertained as to the 

 extent of what may in one sense be called the 

 visible universe. There have been more than 

 3000 of these nebula? already discovered. Sup- 

 posing the number of stars which compo?e the 

 Milky Way to be only ten millions, (half the 

 number Ibrmerly slated,) and each of the nebulae, 

 at an average, contains the same number ; sup- 

 posing farther, that only two thousand of the 

 three thousand nebula;, are resolvable into stars, 

 and that the other thousand are masses of a shin- 

 ing fluid not yet condensed by the fiat of the 

 Almighty into luminous globes — the number of 

 stars or suns compreiiended in that portion of the 

 firmament which is within the reach of oiir tele- 

 scopes would be 20,000.000,000, or twenty thou- 

 sand millions, which is twenty millions of times 

 the number of all the stars which are visible to 

 the naked eye ! 



Still our philosopher suggests even these as- 

 semblages of systems may be but as a single ne- 

 bula to the whole visible firmament, or even as a 

 grain of sand to the whole earth, compared with 

 the invisible universe beyond 1 



Speaking of what was called the planetary 7ie- 

 bulce, which are round, compact bodies, like plane- 

 tary disks, when viewed through telescopes, 

 Herschel mentions one in the constellation of An- 

 dromeda, " that would more than fill the whole 

 orbit of Uranus," which is three thousand ei.x 

 Imndred millions of miles in diameter. Such a 

 body would, therefore, contain 24,429.081,600,- 

 000,000,000,000,000,000, or more than twenty- 

 lour quartillions of solid miles, which is sixty-eight 

 thousand four hundred millions of times larger 

 than the cubical contents of the Sun ! Hundreds, 

 of these nebulcB have never been resolved into 

 stars. Some are thought to be luminous matter 

 in process ol" condensing. One of these, in the 

 Sword of Orion, is computed to be 2,200,000,000,- 

 000,000,000 times larger than our Sun. All these 

 bodies may be supposed to be advancing to the 

 formation of new systems lor replenishing the void 

 of space, and displaying the Creator's glory. 



The motions of this universe are the subject 

 of a concluding hint. Nothing in nature is qui- 

 escent. Every thing goes in its stated orbit. And 

 tile rate ol'these motions, in every known instance 

 is not less than several tliousands of miles every 

 hour, and, in some instances, thousands of miles 

 every minute. The fixed stars, though to a 

 Vol. VIlI-24 



common observer they appear nearly in the same 

 position with regard to each other, are /bund, in 

 some instances, to liave motions lur more rapid 

 ihan those ofany of the planetary globes, though 

 their magnitude is immensely superior. The stars 

 sixty-one Cygiii, whose apparent motion is five 

 seconds annually — and consequently aliouelher 

 imperce|)tible to a common observer — yet at the 

 distance at w.liich this star is known to be placed 

 lliis motion is equivalent to one hundred and 

 twenty billions of miles every year ; or three 

 hundred and twenty-thousand millions everyday. 

 Such, modestly remarks the doctor, are a lew 

 rude ideas respecting the universe. All these 

 objects, however, do not constitute the universe. 

 They are detached parts of it, and may be as 

 nothing to the whole. Of this whole, man proba- 

 bly may never be able to form a conception. — 

 The highest created intellect may not. To God 

 only does it seem likely to be known. 



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We fiequently receive from subscribers requests 

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 Manures,' and accompanied with the e.\pression 

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 small an amount as 50 cents. We have never 

 failed to send the work, when requested by any 

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It would illy become the author to utter any 

 thing in commendation of (he ' Essay ' as a lite- 

 rary production, or as to the degree of success 

 with which the doctrines and the practical deduc- 

 tions therefrom have been set forth. But he may 

 venture, after this lapse of time, and of universal 

 acquiescence and of approval by all other persons 

 who have examined or acted upon them, to claim 

 that the doctrines and precepts are true; and if 

 so, their being known is all-important to every 

 farmer, and especially in every district of neglect- 

 ed calcareous manures. In all of the latter cir- 

 cumstances (which are still general through ex- 



