162 THE CHEMISTRY OF THE SUN. [CHAP. 



had been gathered by many men in many lands touching solar 

 chemistry ? The inquiry had depended on using existing maps, 

 whether tainted with impurities or not, and observing the lines 

 in all prominences and spots. 



I shall have to show that things were by no means clear; 

 that both eclipse observations and others had not endorsed 

 KirchhofFs views, and that any one who took the trouble to 

 bring together all the results which had been obtained up 

 to that time would have found not only that there was a rift 

 in the lute, but that there was a very big one ; and that the 

 discord which grew upon one as one went into details either 

 with regard to the spectrum of the spots, to the spectrum of the 

 prominences, or to the localisation of the solar atmosphere, 

 was very much more remarkable than the accord. Of course, an 

 immense amount had been done towards elaborating a view of 

 solar chemistry a great part of which would stand ; still there was 

 a great deal which required a considerable amount of attention, 

 and a great deal more which suggested that there was still a 

 higher light to be got before we could really face the magnificent 

 problem with which we. were attempting to grapple. 



In 1873 we had not only results garnered by the new method 

 in six years to deal with, but we had the observations made in 

 the eclipses of 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1871 to co-ordinate with 

 them, and after such co-ordination to compare with the hypo- 

 theses in vogue. 



With regard to eclipses it is difficult to overrate the value of 

 the observations which they enable us to collect, for they in- 

 crease our knowledge of the higher reaches of the sun's atmo- 

 sphere which are inaccessible at any other times, and the lower 

 layers can at the same time be seen under better conditions 

 because there is less atmospheric light to contend with. 



So much, indeed, has of late years been discovered by the 

 new method touching both spots and prominences, that these are 

 now regarded as but ordinary phenomena we are familiar with 



