4 5 



sun burn brightly without supplies of oxygen, the natural 

 bond between the members of the solar system, which in 

 astronomical parlance is called cosmic gravitation, is 

 clearly in evidence. 



I have already said that besides rotatory motion round 

 an axis, the sun moves forward in space. We can see 

 that from analogy. For instance it has been remarked 

 lately that the constellation of Hercules is bearing down 

 with frightful speed upon our earth and if our earth 

 does not change its course, in a few million years a 

 collision must ensue. A similar progress is to be noted in 

 other cases. Our sun, as a star, must follow the same law. 



In our picture of the solar system the position of each 

 planet in relation to the sun is clearly shown. The cir- 

 cular movement of these planets is called movement in 

 an orbit, and these orbits according to their remoteness, 

 from the centre, answer to the degree of perfection of 

 the planets themselves. The farther the orbit from, the 

 sun, the more perfect the planet itself; in other words, 

 the more oxygen the planet can produce for the sun's 

 consumption, the more remote its situation. And that the 

 planets do produce oxygen in immense quantity can be 

 noticed at a glance on the earth's surface. 



If as is asserted, our atmosphere, as composed of 

 four cardinal gases -- oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and 

 carbon was entirely exhausted at a height of sixty 

 versts above the earth's surface, the fires which occur 

 in the forests and the prairies, which burst out sometimes 

 and frequently spread over more than a hundred versts 

 would suffocate all the life around and produce such 

 atmospheric storms as would not only destroy the lar- 

 gest and strongest forest trees, but would break the 

 mountains and granite rocks. No such cases are in evi- 

 dence. On the contrary settlements have often been sur 

 rounded by fires on all sides, but the inhabitants of the 

 places so isolated have experienced not the lack of suf- 

 ficient oxygen for breathing purposes, but the presence 

 of smoke which lies on the lungs and provokes coughing. 



