80 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 81. 



netization in the sun a little more or less than a 

 saturated steel magnet, which does not violate 

 the probable balance of physical forces, A. and- 

 A. P., No. 118, p. 717. (c.) Difficulty: 'M.' 

 remarks, ' ' A complicated scientific hypothesis 

 receives its confirmation from verified predic- 

 tion rather than from an analysis of methods 

 and material." Answer : This is true of simple 

 or such other processes as are fiilly understood; 

 many scientific problems have not reached this 

 stage of perfection. On the other hand my 

 26.68-day period meets the requirement to a 

 remarkable degree, for the ephemeris and so- 

 lar curve are found to be applicable to avail- 

 able data between the dates 1841 and 1896, 

 without sliding. The same phenomenon of in- 

 version of direct and inverse types occurs 

 throughout this interval, and the law of inver- 

 sion is distinctly related to the orbital aspects 

 of the sun's and the earth's equators, giving a 

 semi-annual period, that is two direct and two 

 inverse type systems each year. The same per- 

 iod classifies, European magnetic forces. North 

 American pressures and temperatures, and sun 

 spot frequencies, in an unequivocal though 

 loosely constructed manner ; it i^romises the 

 solution of the semi-annual barometric period of 

 the arctic regions, besides the elucidation of 

 other important terrestrial phenomena. I have 

 found the period and curve useful in forecast- 

 ing the daily maps ; with a suitable magnetic 

 outfit this efiiciency will probably increase. 

 Will ' M. ' indicate any other period in solar 

 or terrestrial physics of similar power ! 



6. It is perhaps unnecessary to remind your 

 readers that these papers, which Prof. Franklin 

 condemns, were submitted to the Board of 

 Award of the Hodgkius Prize Fund, together 

 with the manuscript, and, although in an un- 

 finished state, they received honorable mention, 

 being one of the four American papers reaching 

 that standard of excellence. 



At the time of the late China- Japanese War, 

 a distinguished American diplomat had occa- 

 sion to exhibit a barometer to a very eminent 

 Chinese viceroy, and to explain among other 

 things that it was useful in foretelling the 

 weather and was so employed in his country. 

 The dignitary received the information quietly, 

 but withovit comment. A few weeks later the 



same viceroy came to the diplomat in high glee 

 and displayed a fine, new barometer just ob- 

 tained from Paris. He then declared that he 

 was under certain vows to make a long and ex- 

 pensive journey to the graves of his ancestors, 

 but that fine weather was always indispensable 

 to a propitious result. He stated that he would 

 start in six months, and, to the consternation of 

 the diplomat, demanded to know whether the 

 weather would be favorable for the prelimina- 

 ries and for his journey. After the viceroy re- 

 luctantly became aware of the true state of the 

 matter he dashed his barometer upon the 

 ground in vexation. 



Prof. Franklin's course in his criticism ap- 

 pears to have been somewhat like that of the 

 eminent ofl&cial. 



The research, therefore, now stands as follows: 

 The program and methods of computation laid 

 down in Bulletin No. 2 have been rigidly ad- 

 hered to throughout the work. The details 

 have been inspected freely by a score of scien- 

 tific men, capable of pointing out an erroneous 

 procedure. The published results represent 

 accurately the outcome of the computation, 

 and no elaborate publication can change them. 

 There is no reason for anyone to doubt the 

 value of the scientific work, or to ' suspend 

 judgment' till the final appearance of the 

 work. The conceptions are simple, the results 

 are surprising and important, and will never be 

 brushed aside by imperfect criticism. 



In spite of the usual fine phrases ' dielectric 

 polarization' and 'displacement,' electro-static 

 and magneto-static lines of force are a mystery, 

 and no mechanical analogue has matched them 

 fully. Electro-magnetic radiation is fairly well 

 understood. What I have called magnetic 

 radiation is not so well within our comprehen- 

 sion. Nevertheless observation shows that the 

 magnetic polar field exists, and the evidence is 

 very strong that it is in some way the bearer 

 of energy. (1) It may be that the physical 

 condition of the solar seat of magnetization is 

 so very unsteady as to cause the transient mag- 

 netic currents to become, by integration, a type 

 of real radiation ; (2) it may possibly be that 

 this solar system illustrates the missing magnetic 

 conduction current, needed to complete the 

 balance in the duplex electro-magnetic system ; 



