PROCEEDINGS. 
389 
would be reclaimed in 33 years, at a cost of $69,000,000. This 
land it is proposed to lease at $7 per acre per year. Three years 
are found necessary to convert the reclaimed lands into farm 
lands. [Not published.] 
546th Meeting. February 1, 1902. 
Vice-President Marvin in the chair. 
Thirty-six persons present. 
Mr. Simon Newcomb read a paper on Recent views of the 
universe. He pointed out the low density and high temperature 
of most stars as compared with the sun, and the great range in 
their luminosity, as from more than 1000 times the sun’s bright¬ 
ness at the same distance for Canopus and Rigel to 1/100 for 
some other stars. Probably most stars have dark bodies revolv¬ 
ing around them, and the stellar orbits are generally quite eccen¬ 
tric. The distribution of the stars appears to be remarkably 
symmetrical around the axis and plane of the Milky Way. Refer¬ 
ence was made to Lord Kelvin’s and J. J, Thomson’s recent 
papers. [Not published.] 
Mr. F. H. Bigelow then read a paper on Aristotle’s physics 
and modern physics. Aristotle defended the theory of nature 
which avoids both the extreme idealist view and the extreme 
material view, and developed the theory of evolution from an 
inner potential which we now call life. He denied that atoms 
exist in a vacuum, but held that they possess mutual powers in 
a plenum. The recent views advanced by Lord Kelvin, that the 
ether is non-gravitational matter, and that action at a distance 
is the law of atoms, seem like a close return to the theory of 
Democritus and Aristotle; but Kelvin’s startling theory that 
atoms and ether can occupy identically the same space is not in 
agreement with Aristotle. [Not published.] 
Mr. A. L. Day spoke on The measurement of high tempera¬ 
tures. He pointed out that temperatures are not additive quan¬ 
tities, and that practically their measurement depends on an 
extrapolation outside of the freezing and boiling points of water. 
Practical methods have been based on expansion, boiling points, 
