85 



SCIENTIFIC SIDE-LIGHTS 



Brotherhood 

 Capital 



Antares, called also the Scorpion's Heart. 

 This star has a minute green companion, far 

 too close to the red primary star to be seen 

 alone by any arrangement of the telescope. 

 But advantage was taken by an eminent ob- 

 server of the passage of the moon over this 

 star. In a moment or two the moon hid the 

 larger star, leaving the other shining alone, 

 and then it was seen that the small star 

 was unmistakably green. PROCTOR Ex- 

 panse of Heaven, pp. 220-221. (L. G. & Co., 

 1897.) 



415. CALM OF NATURE Supposed 

 Discord of the Elements Lost in Higher 

 Unity. The knowledge of the laws of Na- 

 ture, whether we can trace them in the al- 

 ternate ebb and flow of the ocean, in the 

 measured path of comets, or in the mutual 

 attractions of multiple stars, alike increases 

 our sense of the calm of Nature, while the ' 

 chimera so long cherished by the human 

 mind in its early and intuitive contempla- 

 tions, the belief in a " discord of the ele- 

 ments," seems gradually to vanish in pro- 

 portion as science extends her empire. 

 HUMBOLDT Cosmos, vol. i, int., p. 42. (H., 

 1897.) 



416. CALMNESS OF SCIENCE Relief 

 from Strife and Discord Fascination of 

 Botany or Astronomy. He, therefore, who 

 amid the discordant strife of nations would 

 seek intellectual repose, turns with delight 

 to contemplate the silent life of plants, and 

 to study the hidden forces of Nature in her 

 sacred sanctuaries; or, yielding to that in- 

 herent impulse which for thousands of 

 years has glowed in the breast of man, di- 

 rects his mind, by a mysterious presenti- 

 ment of his destiny, towards the celestial 

 orbs, which, in undisturbed harmony, pur- 

 sue their ancient and eternal course. HUM- 

 BOLDT Views of Nature, p. 21. (Bell, 1896.) 



417. CAMEL, CHARACTERISTICS OF 



Stolid Endurance Joined with Limited In- 

 telligence. The sole good quality that the 

 camel possesses is his seriousness. His in- 

 telligence is very limited, he neither shows 

 love nor hate, he is indifferent to everything 

 that is not food or his young. He is irri- 

 tated whenever he is obliged to work; if he 

 perceives that his wrath is of no avail he 

 submits to his task with the indifference he 

 brings to everything else. He is vicious and 

 dangerous when he is in a rage; his cow- 

 ardice has no bounds; the roar of a lion 

 will put an entire caravan to flight. Under 

 such circumstances every camel throws 

 down its charge and flees. The howl of a 

 hyena terrifies it; a monkey, a dog, or even 

 a lizard will put it in a fright. I know of 

 no animal with which it is on friendly 

 terms. The donkey's relation to it is kind 

 enough, but of friendship there is no trace. 

 The horse seems to regard him as the most 

 unsightly animal. For his part, the camel 

 appears to regard all other animals with 

 the same bad humor which he feels toward 



man. BREHM La Vie des Animaux illustre, 

 Mammiferes, p. 443. (Translated for Scien- 

 tific Side-Lights.) 



418. CANDOR OF SCIENTIST Change 

 of Opinion with Advancing Knowledge. 

 But it is the misfortune of progress that 

 one is forced not only to unlearn a great 

 deal, but, if one has been in the habit of 

 communicating his ideas to others, to de- 

 stroy much of his own work. I now find 

 myself in this predicament ; and after teach- 

 ing my students for years that -the Carbon- 

 iferous epoch belongs to the Paleozoic or 

 Primary age, I am convinced and this con- 

 viction grows upon me constantly as I free 

 myself from old prepossessions and bias on 

 the subject that with the Carboniferous 

 epoch we have the opening of the Secondary 

 age in the history of the world. AGASSIZ 

 Geological Sketches, ser. i, ch. 5, p. 140. 

 (H. M. & Co., 1896.) 



419. CANNIBALISM NOT PRACTISED 

 BY SHELL-MOUND BUILDERS The ob- 

 servations of Arctic travelers prove that 

 even if human bones had been found in the 

 shell-mounds, this would not of itself be 

 any evidence of cannibalism; but the ab- 

 sence of such remains satisfactorily shows 

 that the primitive population of the North 

 were free from this practise. On the other 

 hand, the tumuli have supplied us with 

 numerous skeletons which probably belong 

 to the Stone Age. The skulls are very 

 round, and in many respects resemble those 

 of the Lapps, but have a more projecting 

 ridge over the eye. AVEBURY Prehistoric 

 Times, ch. 7, p. 229. (A., 1900.) 



420. CAPACITY OF VARIATION A 

 CAPACITY OF IMPROVEMENT No case 

 is on record of a variable organism ceasing 

 to vary under cultivation. Our oldest culti- 

 vated plants, such as wheat, still yield new 

 varieties: our oldest domesticated animals 

 are still capable of rapid improvement or 

 modification. DARWIN Origin of Species, 

 ch. 1, p. 6. (Burt.) 



421. CAPITAL, VITAL The Young 

 Plant Draws on Accumulated Store. The 

 food of plants being in great measure the 

 same for all, and bathing all so that it can 

 be absorbed without effort, their vital proc- 

 esses result almost entirely in profit. Once 

 fairly rooted in a fit place, a plant may thus 

 from the outset add a very large proportion 

 of its entire returns to capital; and may 

 soon be able to carry on its processes on 

 a large scale, tho it does not at first do so. 

 When, however, plants are expenders, name- 

 ly, during their germination and first stages 

 of growth, their degrees of growth are de- 

 termined by their amounts of vital capital. 

 It is because the young tree commences life 

 with a ready-formed embryo and store of 

 food sufficient to last for some time, that it 

 is enabled to strike root and lift its head 

 above the surrounding herbage. SPENCER 

 Biology, pt. ii, ch. 1, p. 159. (A., 1900.) 



