228 Notices respecting New Boohs. 



lines which constitute the group 6 of the Carbon-spectrum de- 

 scribed in this Journal, S. 4. vol. xxxviii. p. 249. They are known 

 to be due to Carbon and not to any of its compounds, inasmuch as 

 they are given by the spark of the induction-coil in Carbonic oxide 

 at high pressure, or in vacuum-tubes enclosing Cyanogen or Naph- 

 thaline; and evidence is given in the paper cited that they are 

 caused by Carbon at a higher temperature than that required for 

 the production of the ordinary spectrum. A curious point noted 

 by Mr. Capron in connexion with these lines is, that they are 

 scarcely seen in the spectrum of the arc between carbon poles, but 

 are brought out prominently on the addition of a volatile metal. 

 They are very well seen in the photograph of the Cadmium-spectrum ; 

 and Sodium (which Mr. Capron does not appear to have tried) 

 is still more active in bringing them out. If they are due to incan- 

 descent carbon-vapour, the existence of the vapour for a moment 

 may be intelligible in view of the strong reducing-powers of Sodium 

 and Cadmium. 



Other Worlds than Ours. By R. A. Peoctoe. Fourth Edition. 

 Longmans and Co. 1878. 



The announcement of a fourth edition of ' Other Worlds than 

 Ours ' is a guarantee of the estimation in which Mr. Proctor is 

 held as a popular scientific writer, particularly on astronomical 

 subjects. In the present work his fertile pen attains a more 

 lofty theme, soars above the passive material of suns, planets, 

 and stars, and seeks in primary and secondary systems the abodes 

 of living and intelligent creatures : accordingly we find it interme- 

 diate between an astronomical and biological treatise ; dealing on 

 the one hand more with the conditions of life than with life itself, 

 while on the other such astronomical facts only are presented to 

 the reader as the author considered necessary to illustrate and sup- 

 port his main subject. 



The conditions of life on the Earth is the first lesson in connexion 

 with other worlds taught us by the Solar system ; the distribution 

 of climates, the adaptability of various forms of life to each, the 

 regions capable of supporting certain kinds of vegetable and animal 

 existences while others are totally unfit for maintaining these par- 

 ticular forms, are arguments used by the author in treating of those 

 globes in the Solar system which, from astronomical and meteoro- 

 logical considerations he regards as suitable habitations for intelli- 

 gent beings. 



The great reservoir of living force Mr. Proctor finds in the Sun, 

 the central and ruling body of the system. The light, heat, actinism, 

 magnetism, and other influences emanating from him are trans- 

 mitted to the globes around him, which respond, as in the case of 

 magnetism, to the disturbances set up in the ocean of light sur- 

 rounding him. The remarkable connexion existing between those 

 tumultuously rushing currents rending apart the luminous clouds 

 constituting his photosphere, and the delicate vibrations of the 

 magnetic needle on the earth, point to a bond of sympathy between 



