575 



SCIENTIFIC SIDE-LIGHTS 



Reason 

 Reconstruction 



tectively colored; but they generally pos- 

 sess some distinctive markings for the pur- 

 pose of being easily recognized by their kind, 

 both when at rest and during flight. Such 

 are the white bands or patches on the breast 

 or belly of many birds, but more especially 

 the head and neck markings in the form of 

 white or black caps, collars, eye-marks or 

 frontal patches. WALLACE Darwinism, ch. 

 8, pp. 147-150. (Hum.) 



2837. RECOGNITION, MATERNAL 



Possible Only among the Higher Animals. 

 The next thing [in the evolution of mother- 

 hood] was to make it possible for the parent 

 to recognize its young. ... In the lower 

 reaches the young are never in the smallest 

 degree like their parents, and, granting the 

 highest power of recognition to the mother, 

 it is impossible that she should recognize 

 her own offspring. For generations even 

 science was imposed upon here, for many 

 forms of life were described and classified 

 as distinct species which have turned out to 

 be simply the young of other species. . . . 

 The larval forms of the starfish, or the sea- 

 urchin, or their kinsman the holothurian 

 are disguised past all recognition; and 

 among the insects the relation between but- 

 terflies and moths and their respective 

 caterpillars is beyond any possible clue. No 

 doubt there are other modes of recognition 

 in Nature than those which depend on the 

 sense of sight. But looked at on every side, 

 the fact remains that the power to identify 

 their young is all but absent until the 

 higher animals appear. DRUMMOND Ascent 

 of Man, ch. 8, p. 274. (J. P., 1900.) 



2838. RECOGNITION OF THE IDEAL 



The First Step toward Conformity. The 

 recognition of the ideal is the first step in 

 the direction of conformity. But let it be 

 clearly observed that it is but a step. There 

 is no vital connection between merely seeing 

 the ideal and being conformed to it. DRUM- 

 MONO Natural Law in the Spiritual World, 

 essay 8, p. 274. (H. Al.) 



2839. RECOGNITION OF UNSEEN 

 POWER Illustration of Mill Shaft. If we 

 think the man foolish who supposes the 

 main shaft of a cotton-mill to turn of itself, 

 merely because he sees it apparently end in a 

 wall which conceals from him the source of its 

 motive power, are we not really chargeable 

 with the like folly if we attribute self-mo- 

 tion to the ultimate molecules of matter, 

 merely because the power that moves them 

 is hid from our sight? CARPENTER Nature 

 and Man, lect. 12, p. 363. (A., 1889.) 



2840. RECOIL OF CANNON Gun 

 Heavy To Absorb Its Own Reaction. In 

 constructing a cannon provision must al- 

 ways be made for its recoil when fired. A 

 cannon that fires a very heavy shot must 

 itself be heavy, for two reasons: first, in 

 order that it may be strong enough to resist 

 the charge of powder, and,' secondly, that it 

 may be heavy enough to absorb the reaction, 



so that the recoil will not be too great. 

 ELISHA GRAY Nature's Miracles, vol. ii, ch. 

 1, p. 8. (F. H. & H., 1900.) 



2841. RECONCILIATION, IRRA- 

 TIONAL Attempt to Force Science to Accord 

 with Supposed Biblical Teaching Scheme 

 of Tycho Brahe. There was a slight delay 

 in the adoption of the theory of the central 

 sun and the motion of the earth, a delay 

 due to the astronomer TychcT Brahe, who- 

 contrived, in 1582, a mixed system suscep- 

 tible of reconciling observation with the 

 Bible, in the name of which the teaching- 

 schools refused to accept the theory of the 

 earth's motion. 



Here is how the Danish astronomer him- 

 self states his theory: 



" I think it is decidedly necessary, with- 

 out any doubt, to place the earth motion- 

 less at the center of the system, according 

 to the opinion of the ancients and the tes- 

 timony of Scripture. I do not admit, with. 

 Ptolemy, that the earth may be the center 

 of the orbits of the second ' mobile,' but I 

 think that the celestial motions are ar- 

 ranged so that the moon and the sun only, 

 with the eighth sphere, the most distant of 

 all, and which includes all the others, have 

 the center of their motion near the earth. 

 The five other planets revolve round the sun 

 as round their chief and king, and the sun 

 must be incessantly in the midst of their orbs, 

 which accompany him in his annual motion. 

 . . . Thus the sun would be the ruler and 

 end of all these revolutions, and, like Apollo 

 in the midst of the Muses, he would rule 

 alone all the celestial harmony." 



To the system of Tycho Brahe there exists 

 the same serious objection which was made 

 to that of Ptolemy, since in fixing the earth 

 at the center of the world-system he sup- 

 posed that the sun, all the planets, and the 

 whole sky of fixed stars, described round us 

 their immense orbits in twenty-four hours. 

 It never enjoyed a real influence. FLAM- 

 MARION Popular Astronomy, bk. iv, ch. 1, 

 p. 343. (A.) 



2842. RECONSTRUCTION FROM 



FRAGMENTS Intuitive Perception of Geniu 

 Agassiz Rivals Exploit of Cuvier Extinct 

 Crustacean of Balruddery Restored. The 

 numerous specimens . . . were spread 

 out before us. ... There were the frag- 

 ments of scaly rhombs, of scaly crescents, 

 of scaly circles, with scaly parallelograms 

 attached to them, and of several other regu- 

 lar compound figures besides. . . . Agas- 

 siz glanced over the collection. One speci- 

 men especially caught his attention an ele- 

 gantly symmetrical one. It seemed a com- 

 bination of the parallelogram and the cres- 

 cent; there were pointed horns at each end; 

 but the convex and concave lines of the op- 

 posite sides passed into almost parallel right 

 lines towards the center. His eye bright- 

 ened as he contemplated it. " I will tell 

 you," he said, turning to the company " I 

 will tell you what these are the remains 



