72 Things not generally Known. 



Telescopes, therefore, must be greatly improved before we 

 could expect to see signs of inhabitants, as manifested by edi- 

 fices or changes on the surface of the soil. It should, however, 

 be observed, that owing to the small density of the materials of 

 the moon, and the comparatively feeble gravitation of bodies 

 on her surface, muscular force would there go six times as far 

 in overcoming the weight of materials as on the earth. Owing 

 to the want of air, however, it seems impossible that any form 

 of life analogous to those on earth can subsist there. No 

 appearance indicating vegetation, or the slightest variation of 

 surface which can in our opinion fairly be ascribed to change of 

 season, can any where be discerned. Sir John Herschel's Out- 

 lines. 



THE MOON SEEN THROUGH LORD ROSSE's TELESCOPE. 



In 1846, the Rev. Dr. Scoresby had the gratification of ob- 

 serving the Moon through the stupendous telescope constructed 

 by Lord Rosse at Parsonstown. It appeared like a globe of 

 molten silver, and every object to the extent of 100 yards was 

 quite visible. Edifices, therefore, of the size of York Minster, 

 or even of the ruins of Whitby Abbey, might be easily per- 

 ceived, if they had existed. But there was no appearance of 

 any thing of that nature ; neither was there any indication of 

 the existence of water, or of an atmosphere. There were a 

 great number of extinct volcanoes, several miles in breadth ; 

 through one of them there was a line of continuance about 150 

 miles in length, which ran in a straight direction, like a rail- 

 way. The general appearance, however, was like one vast ruin 

 of nature ; and many of the pieces of rock driven out of the 

 volcanoes appeared to lie at various distances. 



MOUNTAINS IN THE MOON. 



By the aid of telescopes, we discern irregularities in the sur- 

 face of the moon which can be no other than mountains arid 

 valleys. for this plain reason, that we see the shadows cast 

 by the former in the exact proportion as to length which they 

 ought to have when we take into account the inclinations of 

 the sun's rays to that part of the moon's surface on which they 

 stand. From micrometrical measurements of the lengths of the 

 shadows of the more conspicuous mountains, Messrs. Baer and 

 Maedler have given a list of heights for no less than 1095 lunar 

 mountains, among which occur all degrees of elevation up to 

 22,823 British feet, or about 1400 feet higher than Chimbo- 

 razo in the Andes. 



If Chimborazo were as high in proportion to the earth's 

 diameter as a mountain in the moon known by the name of 



