398 



SCIENCE 



[Yol. V., No. 119. 



of such extreme delicacy as photograph ing the corona, 

 and in which no little skill and special experience are 

 necessary on the part of the photographer as well as 

 on the part of the physicist. 



Mr. Pickering has no doubt received authority from 

 Dr. O. Lohse to say that " he (Dr. Lohse) considers 

 that the halo on his plate is wholly atmospheric, and 

 not coronal;" but Dr. Lohse's published statement 

 leads differently. Dr. O. Lohse's words are, " Es 

 gelang aber dieselben (die schwierigkeiten) zu iiber- 

 winden und resultate zu erhalten welche zu einer 

 f ortsetzung der — hier freilich selten moglichen und 

 mit grosserem vortheil in moglicht holier lage an- 

 zustellenden — experimenten ermuthigen." — Vier- 

 teljahrsschrift der Astronomischen gesellschaft, xv. 

 134. 



I have not seen Dr. Lohse's plates, and can there- 

 fore express no opinion as to the nature of the ap- 

 pearances upon them. William Hug gins. 



THE PRESERVATION OF NIAGARA. 



Nearly seven years ago Lord Dufferin, 

 then governor-general of Canada, suggested 

 to Gov. Robinson of New York that the 

 governments of the province of Ontario and 

 the state of New York should purchase such 

 lands about Niagara Falls as would be required 

 to give free access to the principal points of 

 view, and serve to restore and preserve the 

 natural scenery of the great cataract, beside 

 securing to visitors freedom from those vexa- 

 tious annoyances which now abound. Sub- 

 sequently the governor-general called the 

 attention of the government of Ontario to the 

 matter, and recommended co-operation with 

 the state of New York in accomplishing this 

 purpose. 



Later, in January, 1879, Gov. Robinson, in 

 his annual message to the legislature of New 

 York, presented this matter, and recommended 

 the appointment of a commission to investi- 

 gate the question, to confer with the Canadian 

 authorities, to consider what measures were 

 necessary, and to report the results to a suc- 

 ceeding legislature. 



By resolution the commissioners of the state 

 survey were charged with the investigation. 

 This commission included some of the most 

 distinguished men of the state, — Ex-Gov. Ho- 

 ratio 8e} T mour, Vice-President of the United 

 States "W". A. Wheeler, Lieut. -Gov. Dorshei- 

 mer, President Barnard of Columbia college, 

 and others. 



With breadth of view worthy of such men, 

 they state in their report, that, " under this 

 resolution, it became the duty of the commis- 

 sioners to ascertain how far the private hold- 

 ing of land about Niagara Falls has worked 

 to public disadvantage through defacements 

 of the sceneiy ; to estimate the tendency to 



greater injury ; and, lastly, to consider whether 

 the proposed action by the state is necessary 

 to arrest the process of destruction, and re- 

 store to the sceneiy its natural character." 

 In pursuance of these objects, the commis- 

 sioners instructed Mr. James T. Gardiner, 

 director of the state survey, to make an ex- 

 amination of the premises, and prepare for 

 their consideration a project. He was assisted 

 in this work by Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, 

 the distinguished landscape-architect. 



The examination showed that the destruc- 

 tion of the natural scenery which forms the 

 framework of the falls was rapidly progressing : 

 unsightly structures and mills were taking the 

 place of the beautiful woods that once over- 

 hung the rapids ; the fine piece of primeval 

 forest remaining on Goat Island was in jeop- 

 ardy from projects looking to making a show- 

 ground of the island ; and every point from 

 which the falls could be seen on the American 

 side was fenced in, and a fee charged for 

 admission. It was found, that, owing to the 

 topography of the main shore, it was prac- 

 ticable to restore its natural aspect hy clearing 

 awa} 7 the buildings from a narrow strip of land 

 100 to 800 feet broad and a mile long, and 

 planting it with trees which would screen out 

 from view the buildings of the village. When 

 these trees should be grown, and the mills re- 

 moved from Bath Island, and trees planted 

 there, the falls and rapids would be again seen 

 in the setting of natural foliage which formed 

 so important an element in their original 

 beauty. Every point from which the falls 

 could be seen would also become free of access 

 by the plan proposed. A map was made 

 showing just what lands should be taken to 

 cany out these purposes. The commissioners 

 adopted the plan of Mr. Gardiner and Mr. 

 Olmsted, and recommended to the legislature 

 of 1880 the passage of an act to provide for 

 acquiring title to the necessary lands b} T the 

 exercise of the right of eminent domain, leav- 

 ing it to a future legislature to consummate 

 the purchase b} T appropriating the amount for 

 the payment of the awards, if the sum should 

 seem a reasonable price for the property. 

 Such an act passed the assembly, but was 

 defeated in the senate, although the movement 

 was supported by petitions signed by the most 

 distinguished men of this and other countries. 

 The report of the state survey, with its com- 

 plete descriptions, illustrations, and maps, then 

 became the basis of a systematic effort on the 

 part of a few determined friends of the falls 

 to educate and arouse public opinion to save 

 the scenery of Niagara. Early in 1883 this 



