December 1, 1894.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



273 



be removed to a distance corresponding to a parallax of 

 0'323", and this would reduce the mass of the binary pair 

 to y^ ^nd of the sun's mass. The uncertainty in the orbit, 

 however, renders these results very doubtful. 



^ Scorpii. — Prom Schorr's orbit of the pair, I find a 

 hypothetical parallax of 0-06", which would reduce the 

 sun to a star of 7'18 magnitude. As the star's photo- 

 metric magnitude is -I'lO, we have a difference of 3-08 

 magnitudes, denoting that the binary — if of the same mass 

 as the sun — is about seventeen times brighter. A parallax 

 of about 0-248" would make the sun equal in brightness to 

 the star, and this parallax would reduce the mass of the 

 binary to about J^yth of the sun's mass. The spectrum is 

 a doubtful one (F '?) of the second type, and perhaps the 

 star may not be strictly comparable with the sun. 



I Leonis.- — The hypothetical parallax derived from my 

 orbit for this pair (the only orbit yet computed) is 007". 

 This would reduce the sun to 6-85 magnitude, and as the 

 star was measured 3-98 at Harvard, we have a difl'ereuce 

 of 2-87 magnitudes, which indicates that the star is, for 

 equal masses, about thirteen times brighter than the sun. 

 To make the sun equal to the star in brightness, the 

 parallax should be increased to 0'262", and this would 

 reduce the mass of the binary to about Jj'^'^ of the sun's 

 mass. The spectrum is of the G class in the Draper 

 Catalogue. 



35 Corns. — .\n orbit recently computed by me gives 

 a hypothetical parallax of 0-045", indicating a distance 

 at which the sun would be reduced to a star of 7'8 magni- 

 tude. The star's measured magnitude being 5-08, we 

 have a difference of 2-72 magnitudes, which makes the star 

 twelve and a quarter times brighter than the sun if the 

 masses were equal. A parallax of 0-158" would make the 

 sun equal to the star, and this would reduce the mass of 

 the binary system to -^'g of the sun's mass. 



r Cygni. — For this binary pair Mr. Burnham has lately 

 computed an orbit, and found a period of 36^- years, with 

 a = 0-94". This gives a hypothetical parallax of 0-085". 

 and at the distance indicated the sun would be reduced to 

 a star of 6-42 magnitude. The star's photometric magni- 

 tude being 3-94, there is a difi'erence of 2-48 magnitudes, 

 which would make the star 9-8 times brighter than the 

 sun. A parallax of 0-267" would reduce the sun to the 

 brightness of the star, and this would diminish the mass 

 of the binary to .,-\-th of the sun's mass. As the spectrum 

 is of the same class (F) as the sun, the two bodies should 

 be fairly comparable, but perhaps the stars composing the 

 binary system may be slightly hotter, and of less density 

 than our sun. This remark may also apply to i Leonis 

 and 35 Comae. 



The binary stars of the first or Sirian type are, of 

 course, not comparable with the sun, as it is evident from 

 the case of Sirius, and other stars of this type, that these 

 stars are intrinsically much brighter in proportion to their 

 mass than stars of the solar type. Of these Sirian type 

 stars, the most remarkable is ^ Urs» Majoris. From 

 Glasenapp's orbit for this binary pair, the hypothetical 

 parallax is only 0-01 ", which would reduce the sun to a 

 star of 11-07 magnitude. As the star's photometric mag- 

 nitude is 4-43, we have a difi'erence of 6-64 magnitudes, 

 denoting that the star is — if of the same mass as the 

 sun- — about 453 times brighter ! As, however, we cannot 

 compare its brightness with that of the sun, no estimate 

 of its mass and distance can be made. 



There is one binary star which forms a remarkable 

 exception to those considered above. This is jj.^ Herculis. 

 From the orbit computed by Leuschner (period 45-39 

 years; a= 1-369") the hypothetical parallax is 0-107". 

 At the distance indicated by this parallax the sun would 



shine as a star of G-0 magnitude. As the magnitude of the 

 binary pair is about 9-5, we have here an exception to the 

 general rule — namely, a star fiilntir than the sun would 

 be if placed at the distance indicated by the hypothetical 

 parallax. The difl'ereuce is 3-5 magnitudes, denoting that the 

 sun is over twenty-five times brighter than the star, for equal 

 masses. To reduce the sun to a 9'5 magnitude star, the 

 parallax should be reduced to about 0-02", and this would 

 iiiorasc the mass of the system to 155 times the mass of 

 the sun. ' The star being so faint its spectrum has not 

 been determined, but the binary pair forms a distant 

 comparison to jjJ^ Herculis, the magnitude of which was 

 measured 3-49 at Harvard. Both stars, although relatively 

 fixed, have a common proper motion through space, a fact 

 which suggests a physical connection. According to the 

 Draper Catalogue, the brighter star has a doubtful 

 spectrum of the second type (class I '?). It does not follow, 

 of course, that the fainter star (the binary) has a spectrum 

 of the same type. Indeed, its bluish colour would suggest 

 a spectrum of the Sirian type ; but if of this type, it is 

 difficult to understand why it should be so faint. If the 

 binary pair is physically connected with the brighter star, 

 both objects probably lie at practically the same distance 

 from the earth. The difi'erence in their brightness — six 

 magnitudes — is, therefore, very remarkable, and would be 

 still more so if the brighter star were of the second type 

 and the fainter of the first. 



THE DEGENERATION OF HUMAN STATURE. 



By Miss C. S. Bremner. 



THE question is one that not only takes us back to 

 the dawn of history, but to prehistoric times. If 

 we consult the sacred writings of any people, the 

 sagas of northern races, the legends and traditions 

 common among southern ones, we almost invariably 

 find the same general impression, not infrequently a precise 

 statement, that the human race is diminishing in stature. 

 All the legends point to heroes and demigods of immense 

 stature. Buckle alludes to the same fixed ideas in early 

 Indian history. The early Aryans were much more virtuous 

 and happy than we their degenerate descendants ; their 

 stature was more exalted ; the ordinary duration of life 

 among them was about eighty thousand years. If a person 

 led a saintly life, his days might be as long in the land as 

 one hundred thousand years. Indeed one king and saint 

 (one wonders if they were much the same in the good old 

 times) began to reigu at the age of two million years ; he 

 reigned six million three hundred thousand years. At the 

 end of that time he seems to have grown weary in well- 

 doing, for he abdicated the throne, lingering on some 

 one hundred thousand years longer. 



In the earlier portion of the Pentateuch, the life of man, 

 we are told, extended to nine hundred years and more. 

 This figure gradually decreases until we reach the time of 

 David, when it is taken for granted that the years of man are 

 seventy. Of the stature of the early heroes of the Pentateuch 

 nothing is said. About the time of Moses we read that " in 

 these days there were giants on theearth,the sonsanddaugh- 

 ters of Anak." The spies who went up to view the land of 

 Canaan report very quaintly : " There we saw the giants, 

 the sons of Anak, which come of the giants ; and we were 

 in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their 

 sight." In Moab, we are told, " the Emims dwelt there in 

 times past, a i^eople great, and many, and tall, as the 

 Anakims ; which were also accounted giants, as the Ana- 

 kims." Isolated giants are frequently spoken of, such 

 as Og, king of Bashan, Ishbi-benob, who hoped to have 



