December 1, 1899.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



™S- "^^^'P^y^^ reviewer's wrath for indulging in 

 specula ions so similar to my own. He has howeve? 

 overlooked one hypothesis which I mentioned v^z that 



o^d n''. '' '^°'*' ' '°J' °1 '°'^''' '^ '^^ ether b'eTnitew 

 beyond is ULT,' either heat or light from stars situatld 

 Jh^.r. .• ^^^ '^ gravitation is independent of the 



etcher, our motions might be dependent on these in^sible 



The thinning out of stars as we proceed to a considerable 

 distance from the solar system could also be expTaS hv 



ZrZTj'lt ^"° '"""^ °^^ member'ofaXter o'f 

 stars, and that the apparent thinning arises from o,ir 



approachmg the limits of this oluster^r p^s ing b'yo^d 

 I thTnk I \^v«'''^''"' ^ "T' of luminous bodies ought. 

 JyiftllWV' T^' ^'°^' ^^^^^ "ceive from the 

 eten thoulh 1.^' '' transmitted to us without absorption 



Jlr. Maunder, in his comment, is, I think correct in 

 fSf W r "'"''^ ''f'' universe does not implyi'^ 



Btar° Tb« fr°. "^ '°^ '^"^''=''°° ^"^^^ ultimately meet a 

 star. The mfinite universe might, for instance all h« 



theTaTf r"'S'" "^^' ^ "^^^ <=^"' moderate See from 

 the Galactic Plane, so that it would be easy to draw riX 

 hnes towards the region of the Galactic Poles wHhou 

 ni. "Jf '""u^" '*," "' ^"^y ^i«*^'^'=^- But can this ake place 

 over the whole sky on the hypothesis that we are consider 

 in^ Suppose the distribution of stars in any directTon o be 



rnagnitudewi always exceed the total light of those of 

 the «th magnitude, until the sky gets so covered with them 

 that there is a very appreciable loss of light owLg to on^ 



ntiiueT?o"b!f r ? °' 'T'"''- " ^^^' '^^ JSribut on 

 continues to be fairly uniform (in a given directinn^ fn 



VV.il. b. MONCK. 



burg, on the behaviour of trees struck by hghtning. The 



arrested the streamof rainwater flowing down thTiree and 



T'^^ftt'"' °^ '^' ^°^'' P^^' °^ ^^' trunk The surface 

 of which thus remamed dry. At this sta^p nf iL I 



hghtning struck the tree b'ut did no^ £ gftf h ' w" 

 part of the trunk above the circlet of rope. But between 

 the rope and the ground a groove was cut out of the tree 

 A strip of solid wood, about three to four inches deep and 

 as many broad, together with the superimposed bark (and 

 ou °rf>.' '^'"^' twist of the fibre of the wood), was bum 

 out by the explosive force of the instantaneously super 

 heated sap. The outward direction of the disruS 

 force was very clearly shown by stiU adherent splSs of 



The tree failed gradually, but did not quite die till 

 nearly three years after receiving its paralysinrstrokl 



National Liberal Club, Whitehlil Place "sV""'' 

 26th October, 1899. ^e, o.vv.. 



<^titunxv. 



THE SEAS OF THE MOOX. 



To the Editors of Knowledge. 



^.^Zl'~'^°^"^^- *^' '""^ °^ ^i3 interesting paper which 



aboCttie"rvro°T'''°^^"^" (p- ''' -'^- S 



aoove title, Mr. J. G. 0. Tepper says, " the finest litrbtPQf 

 dust must remain eternally undisturbed except bv the 

 rude shock of a colliding meteor, or when 'ploughed asSe 

 by such If gliding along after a very oblique iSpac 

 T.ZTfr'^^u^' °^ '^'' sentence contah,i^g-ff'Mr 



^ !?ew o?ihe folS;:tts"-'^"" ^^^"""^"^^ ^^°^^ 



(1 1 The moon is without atmosphere, and therefore all 



meteors which collide with her would be unbrok n and 



(2) The rays cast no shadows ; 



(3 j They appear brightest at full moon. 

 thlL '' ''°"^^V \°, -Y'- '^^PP"'s tbeory is of anv value 

 Sirr^^l f^°^v,'^ ^' gradually increasing in number' 

 and particularly when, as will shortly be the cas^ the 

 Leonid swarm of meteors is encountered, ' ' 



«J t°^l 5^"^ ^°^'" ^^^'^^^ the latter is the case 



"ravs' in^^"'''^°^°'" "^"'°^' '^^ ^°'^^^''0^ of the ■ 

 rays in the manner described 



Strathmore, Chiswick. Laubence B. Tappenden. 



•-♦-• 



TEEES STRrCK BY LIGHTNIxa. 



To the Editors of Knowledge. 



SiBs,— Some years ago a tree in the grounds of mv 



house on the Brisbane Eiver. in Queensland was s L^k 



by l.ghtmpg, with effects which bear out one of the vkws 



of your correspondent, Baron x\. Kaulbars, of St P^erg 



ss«trr=r^ss^tiK! 



magazine, and in the earlier volumes of K.vo wled^ may^ 

 found a great many of his most attractive papers-" Ant« 



;Piant lyol^tiS^e St'ot A^e^SnT.. ^ nIS" 

 ist 3 Year," and mdeed a complete round of subjects S 

 are of perennial interest to all lovers of native and thS 

 are comprised within the years 1881-1886 AmonVMr^ 

 Aliens published scientific works may be mentioned 

 nefiff °^ v^ ^'''^'''"'" " '^^' Coloii Sens?," °°? 

 fS L r -^''"'' t""^ "T^« Evolutionist at Lar.e°" 

 Fiction, however, was kinder to him than science from » 

 commercial standpoint, but it is fair to say hat al hough 



M 'and ''l^iri' r"^ "°"^^ '' " '^^^ ^Voman wS 

 JJia and British Barbarians" to suit the market in 



to the Editor of the Oxford Ma J i J 7^' ° r^LT^ i^^ 



those that differed from them Afl!n L ?^^^ ^°^^^^ 

 sacrifice himself for Th^^s^'^and'ilrirdVte? ^ 

 of bramor purse, was prompt and ungruS' To m, 

 mmd he has. in spite of many interruptions Sd by Z 



