HEAVENLY PROBLEMS. (Public Opinion.)

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 9410, 7 March 1899, Page 4

HEAVENLY PROBLEMS. (Public Opinion.)

Ib is onrious to refleot) how few of the member* of the eolar eysbem ap* pear to bo fitted for fcho mainefcnanoo of llfo. Moroary is boo near tho bu» for any forms of earth-Ufa to oxiab with comforb on hie surfaoc, Of ooargo beiuiis adapted to «o, hot a oliraato mlghbhave been evolved there, just as bhero aro moo who can live oorafortab'y round tbe earth's equator, but bo far as oftn bo ftsoortainod Moroary has no atmo phore- Hit) maaoi loos than halt that of tho Garth, had probably not sufficient praviby to re< bain an atmOfiphoro, which woald oonseqacntly bo dissipated into npaco as ho travelled round the eun. Mercury's day, like our own, i's about 24 bcurs long, and wo know bhat ho has mountains whioh, rolatlvoly to hia 8 zo, aro vory high. Yet in all proba* hili y no spunk of life, animal or vege*. table, bns ovor oxin od there, and ho owitxiB through epaoo u desorb world, Ib is probable th-t *V enuo and More, our nearest neighbors, art) both io. babibed. Venus is jub' a libblo smaller tbau the oarbb ; hot- day ia 23 hottra long, and sbe has no abuaosphero whioh probab y contains aqueous vapour like l oar own, Bat — \mi this ' but) ' ooqBtuutes tho main external difference between t Venus and tho oarbh — aho ia tnuob nearer tho aim bhnn wo »ro her distanco being 66,000,000 of milos neninob uur 95,000,000, Tho oonseqaent) addibionai heat) on Votiua would probably rooder Id uoootnfort^bly warm for human boingo. There may, howover, be modifying oondibioos, and io is poaaiblo that) our alu'or planob, tho boautiful evening obar, teems with lifo nob materially different from (hab whioh oxieta on tho earth, In one rea*peot at least) tho iahabltaubo of Vonua jure worne off tbon we are — they have no moon. Everybody known, of course, that Mars i 8 inhabited. Has >nob M. Fiummarion conceived the Idea of signalling bo its inhabitants aoroas bho abyss of 33,800,000 miles, wbioh, when they aro nearest, soparabes us from bhem? And eioco the publication of Mr H, G. Well's wiordly, exoifilng story, , ' The | War of fthe Worlds,' none of uo would be much eurpriocd if, eomo fine morning, the Martians make a deaoont upon bhe earth, ttoriouoly it ie praotioally ooitain that) Mars is inhabited by beingo of a high order of intelligence* Ttie faobs ffbioh havo been domonabrabod about) 8thie planotaro : — 1. That it posses* cs an ubatoephere much thinner than ours, but still effective and efficient. 2. Tbab it possesses water, 3, That its wator supply is running io dangerouely low that its Beau ato praoti - cully dried up, leaving the planet dependent for wubor rattinly on its polar onowa, i Thab febero are a >i cut number of fmo lines visible an its eurfuoo (tho eo called caanls), tho obaraotiof of whioh Bbrongly jfavoure tho supposition thab bbey have boon artificial y produced. It is highly probable that theue tinog, whether (homaelvea caaalo or the vegetabion which I orders canals, are the visible evidence of a gigantio, world wide system of irrigftbfon which acarcity of water has oompollcd tho Martiaau to adopt* Life on Msra has no doubb exited millions of yoar<t longer ih»n on tho oarbb, and its inhabitants ate bo much fu<rher advanoed on bbo pabh of evolution. Therefore it is possible that their toionoo and art aro immoasarably superior to ours, that bbeir knowledge of tho universe is infioiboly greater, and thaq, as ono example, thoy may possess optical in9truments of such enormous power bbsu our beob boles" copes would be moro o'uinBy play.hiog 8 beside them. Tho inhabitants of Mar 9 may know much moro about the his* 4 tory of bbe earth thaa we know our" selves. They may havo watched bhe I formation of ibs oruub, and origin and developemen'< of lito on its surface, 1 the slow enolution of aia-j, bhe rise and decay of hia cibtes and orapircw, bho hurricane*), the euithqa^kes and fires whtoh have devasiaieot our g'obo; and they may bo watohing ua cloeo'y and, lob us hope, benovooniiy now. We would fatn condole with them on their own great calamity— too eoaroity of wftUr — nnd express a forvid hope that their supply of this precious Quid may never bo lesa than ib is now, So fur aa human ecionco can dotermine, none of bho other members of the flolar ayatom »ro inhabibed, though ib is certain thai wo know very litile t* boat bbe matter.

Oowo in Belgium wear earrings, Every animal of tbo bovine epoolog raaat have la its o»r ft ringi to whioh is abbaohed a inetj.il tag bearing a number, The object ia to proaervo an exact record of the number of animals bred each year, In Denmark it ia bho law that sill drunkon porooaa shall bo taken to their hotnoa in carri»ft«s provided ab boexpooHoof tbo publican who oo'd tbora tholftBbglans. It \ti said that the first vroopingwillow in England was plan'ed by A\exandrt Popo, tbo poob.