November 1, 1886.] 



♦ KNONATLEDGE ♦ 



sun. We must confess that even the support of Professor 

 Stokes— who is more cautious than Mr. Huggins himself — 

 and of Captain Abney, whose photographic experience 

 counted for much in such a matter, had not seemed to us to 

 render Mr. Huggins's views about these photographed 

 coronas probable, strongly though our wishes fiivoured the 

 hope that lie might be right, after all. Of course, it was not 

 possible to reject ]\Ir. Huggins's photographed corona as 

 absolutely and unhesitatingly as we were forced to reject 

 the fancy of Mr. Brett (the able landscape-painter) that he 

 could actually see the corona without the aid of an eclipse 1 

 For Mr. Huggins's hopes were based on scientific pos- 

 sibility, viz. that the strongly actinic portion of the 

 corona's light might make its pressure felt where the corona's 

 light as it aflects vision is demonstraljly too weak to be 

 discerned. Mr. Brett's fancy never had a trace even of 

 possibility. The photogi-aphs of the partial eclipse at Cape 

 Town and of phases preceding totality at the West Indian 

 stations, unfortunately dispose finally of the idea that Mr. 

 Huggins had photographed the real corona. For, under 

 conditions far more favourable for showing the solar corona 

 (because of the great diminution of atmospheric glare) the 

 coronal appearances were much fainter, and — an even more 

 decisive blow — no trace of the moon's form could be traced 

 on such coronal streaks as appeared. Undoubtedly if the 

 light around the sun in Mr. Huggins's photographs came 

 rciilly from the solar corona, the presence of the moon 

 would have been clearly indicated in the pictm-es. The fact 

 that the moon is not thus discernible proves that the coronal 

 appendages seen round the sun belong to a region nearer 

 than the moon — doubtless, therefore, to our own atmo- 

 sphere. 



Good pliotographs of the corona have been obtained by 

 Captain Darwin and Mr. Schuster, some of them including 

 photographs of the coronal spectrum. The corona's light 

 has been measured by Professor Thorpe ; but we do not 

 learn how it was differentiated from the light of that portion 

 of the air above the observer's horizon which was illuminated 

 by full sunlight, even during mid-totality. It seems almost 

 impossible to take duly into account the varying condition 

 of our air in different eclipses, alike in regard to trans- 

 parency (by which the corona's light is more fully received) 

 and to light-reflecting power (by which more of the light 

 falling on the air comes into play to diminish the darkness 

 of total eclipse). 



In reading the very voluminous report of the eclipse 

 observations in the London Times a somewhat inexact idea 

 might be conveyed by the circumstance that the results read 

 as if they were due severally to Lockyer and Tacchini (per- 

 sistently called Zacchini, such is fame 1) to Darwin and 

 Lockyer, to Lockyer and Perry, to Schuster and Lockj'er, 

 to Lockyer and Thorpe, to Maunder and Lockyer, to 

 Lockyer, and so forth. This will be understood better 

 perhaps when we note that the report is due solely to Mr. 

 Lockyer's well-known reporting ingenuity ; the eclipse 

 itself he omitted to see, because at his station " it was not 

 in sight." Only one new method is deemed worthy of 

 special notice by the reporter, Mr. Lockyer's new photo- 

 graphic method, which must be far superior to all others, 

 for he says so. It was bound to be a success. It vas a 

 success. " Mr. Lockyer," says ]\Ir. Lockyer, " will not hear 

 of want of success; he holds that the problem has been 

 solved." Only one thing was wanting. " No photographs 

 have been actually taken " by this method. Who, howevei', 

 but a paltry caviller would mention such a mere detail as 

 that ? " In spite of the want of photographs . . . the 

 problem has been solved " ! 



ETHNOLOGY OF THE BLACKFOOT TRIBES. 



The primitive creation is attributed to a superior divinity, 

 whom they call the Creator (ApistotoHn), and sometimes 

 identify with the sun. After this divinity — of whom their 

 ideas are very vague— had created the watery expanse, another 

 deity, with the aid of four animals, of which the musk-rat was 

 the chief, brought some earth from the bottom of the abyss, 

 expanded it to the present continent, and peopled it with 

 human beings. This deity is commonly styled by them the 

 " Old Man " (y'apiir), a name implying, as used by them, 

 a feeling of affectionate admiration. He is represented as a 

 powerful but tricksy spirit, half Jupiter and half Mercury. 

 " He appears," writes M. Lacombe, " in many other tradi- 

 tions and legendary accounts, in which he is associated with 

 the various kinds of animals, speaking to them, making use 

 of them, and especially cheatuig them, and playing every 

 kind of trick." In this being we recognise at once the 

 most genuine and characteristic of all the Algonkin divini- 

 ties. In every tribe of this wide-spread family, from Nova 

 Scotia to Virginia, and from the Delaware to the Eocky 

 Mountains, he reappears under various names — Manabozho, 

 Michabo, Wetuks, Glooskap, Wisaketjak, Napiw— but 

 everywhere with the same traits and the same history. 

 He is at once a creator, a defender, a teacher, and at the 

 same time a conqueror, a robber, and a deceiver. But the 

 robbery and deceit, it would seem, are usually for some good 

 purpose. He preserves mankind from then- enemies, and 

 uses the arts of these enemies to cii'cumvent and destroy 

 them. In Longfellow's charming poem, he is confounded 

 with the Iroquois hero, Hiawatha. In Dr. Brinton's view, 

 his oi-igin is to be found in a Nature-myth, representing 

 " on the one hand the unceasing struggle of day with night, 

 light with darkness, and on the other that no less important 

 conflict which is ever waging between the storm and 

 sunshine, the winter and summer, the rain and clear sky." 



A California Tree. — There was recently felled in 

 Lonoma County, California, a tree which cut up as follows. 

 The Petalmna Argus says that the details can be relied 

 upon. The standing height of the tree was .3-17 ft., and its 

 diameter near the ground was 14 ft. In falling, the top 

 was broken off nearly 200 ft. distant from the stump, and 

 up to the point of breaking the tree was jierfectly sound. 

 From the tree saw-logs were cut of the following lengths 

 and diameters: — 1. 14 ft. long, 9 ft. dia. ; 2. 12 ft. long, 

 8 ft. dia.; 3. 12 ft. long, 7 ft. 7 in. dia.; 4. 14 ft. long, 

 7 ft. G in. dia.; 5. 16 ft. long, 7 ft. dia.; 6. 16 ft. long, 

 6 ft. 10 in. dia. ; 7. 16 ft. long, 6 ft. 6 in. dia. ; 8. 16 ft. 

 long, 6 ft. 4 in. dia.; 9. 16 ft. long, 6 ft. 3 in. dia.; 10. 

 18 ft. long, 6 ft. dia.; 11. 12 ft. long, 5 ft. 10 in. dia.; 12. 

 18 ft. long, 5 ft. 6 in. dia. It will thus be seen that 180 ft. 

 of this remarkable tree were converted into saw-logs. 



With reference to the obvious idea pervading Mr. Proctor's 

 articles on " Americanisms " in the last number of Know- 

 ledge that the critique La the Saturday Review was written 

 by me, may I venture to state that I did not write that 

 paper, that I have not contributed to the Saturchii/ for 

 years, that I do not know who was the author, that I sup- 

 plied no facts or material for it, and that I was ignorant 

 of its very existence till I saw myself accused of having 

 composed it ? I have written a full denial of the imputation 

 to Mr. Proctor, and I earnestly trust the mLsapprehension 

 may not impair a friendship which I value, and have always 

 valued, very highly. — Grant Allen. 



