it was formed by a conjunction of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. It 

 is unfortunate that observations of any of the planets, although of 

 great scientific interest, are of no avail in elucidating many points 

 on which our curiosity is excited. As; for instance, the much 

 debated question whether they are inhabited, and if so, by what 

 sort of beings ! Whether there is any water, any vegetation, or 

 indeed any climate, We know that Mars has an atmosphere of 

 watery vapour, that it has patches of cloud, and that at either pole 

 there are, we believe, ice capped masses just as on our earth. But 

 as Mars is twice as far from the sun as the earth, its average 

 temperature would be about 90 obelow zero, so that if animal or 

 vegetable life exists, both must be formed on a vastly different 

 model from our own. My own feeling is that it would be strange 

 indeed were all the worlds, except our own planet, devoid of life, 

 but at the same time it is, I fear, an idle hope that we shall ever so 

 far bridge over the vast distances of the interstellar spaces, as to 

 fathom their mysteries. 



A valuable report has just been issued on " Atmospheric Circu- 

 lation," based on observations made during the voyage of H.M S. 

 " Challenger." It is, however, impossible for me to enter now into 

 so vast a subject, suffice it to say, that the equability of tempera- 

 ture on sea compared to that on land has been, among other points, 

 clearly demonstrated. In latitude 30, in either the north or south 

 Atlantic or Pacific, the daily fluctuations of the temperature of the 

 sea itself range only from 0.7 deg. to 1 deg., and the temperature 

 of the air ranges only 2.1 deg. to 4 deg., whereas on land the daily 

 range is, as you know, often as great as 10 deg. or even 15 deg. 

 The reason being, that on land the sun's rays are wholly absorbed 

 by a thin layer of the surface of the earth, so that the temperature 

 rapidly rises. On the sea, however, the solar rays penetrate to the 

 depth of at least 500 feet, so that although a much greater depth 

 is appreciably warmed, the temperature is relatively but slightly 

 raised. The report also deals with Barometric changes, the humi- 

 dity of the air, velocity of the wind, and many other points of great 

 interest and meteorological value. 



In September last an important discovery, as regards our mari- 

 time interest, was made of a new rock in the Atlantic, on the 

 southern cost of Newfoundland, immediately in the track of vessels 

 making for the St. Lawrence. x\lthougli covered by 83 feet of 

 water, it would, if unknown, and unmarked, form a great source of 

 danger to navigation in heavy seas That it has only recently 

 been observed in this well-known track, points almost conclusively 

 to volcanic action, which moreover was, some years ago, demon- 

 strated on the same coast by tidal waves of almost unprecedented 

 and fearful velocity. This is the more remarkable as north 



