82 THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 
ministers that the teaching of Dr. Wallace was quite correct, and 
that he agreed with it; but that the teachings of the venerable old 
doctor was misunderstood. It behoves me, as President of the Hamil- 
ton Astronomical Society, to correct this. I do it kindly, but 
firmly. I may say that those most likely to understand an astro- 
nomical work written by Dr. Wallace or any other on the subject 
_would be the astronomers, and I think his article previous to his 
book was so well understood by astronomers and so properly 
criticized by them that Dr. Wallace has modified considerable of his 
teachings in the book so recently published. Moreover, a number 
present here to night have the distinguished honor of belonging to 
the Society whose criticisms sent direct to Dr. Wallace was instru- 
mental in modifying some of his extreme views. I refer here to the 
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, whose worthy President, 
Prof: Chant, of Toronto University, was with us only a few nights 
ago and gave us that admirable paper on ‘ Polarized Light.” 
That galaxy of stars being the fundamental plan of the universe 
divides the great structure into two parts, and to the up-to-date 
astronomer suggests the sphericity of the universe. Close to the 
Milky Way and on either side of it the stars are so numerous that it 
is impossible to count them even with the aid of the telescope or 
camera plate. In a space the size the full moon appears to the 
naked eye there are hundreds of stars. In many places the stars 
are sO numerous they are termed star clouds. 
By over 3,000 actual star counts in all parts of the sky Herschal 
found that they were evenly distributed on each side of the Milky 
Way ; 
That there are over thirty times as many stars in the Milky 
Way as there are distributed in space on either side of it ; 
That from either side of the Milky Way from a close proximity 
to it, the stars gradually decrease in number down to go degrees. 
But the recent introduction of the spectroscope has much en- 
couraged the astronomer; and whilst he has not mastered this 
instrument fully, yet it has given him a great step forward towards 
the goal which he hopes sooner or later to reach in determining this 
great question—the size of the universe. By carefully examining 
stars as to the color, it is found that certain colors prevail in certain 
