=Canada (Pictou, Ontario).=—About twenty members of the C. L. S. C. met at the residence of G. C. Curry, Esq., recently, to compare notes and talk over matters connected with their daily readings. Considerable enthusiasm was manifested by the several members respecting the subjects on the program for the present year, which began on the 1st of October last. Some, however, have only just joined, and it is not too late yet for new ones to join and take up the work for the current year. At the next meeting of the circle notes will be read on the month’s reading and difficulties met with brought forward for explanation.
ONE HUNDRED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON “RECREATIONS IN ASTRONOMY,” CHAPTERS I TO VII, BOTH INCLUSIVE—CREATIVE PROCESSES, CREATIVE PROGRESS, ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS, CELESTIAL MEASUREMENTS; THE SUN; THE PLANETS, AS SEEN FROM SPACE; SHOOTING-STARS, METEORS, AND COMETS.
By ALBERT M. MARTIN, GENERAL SECRETARY C. L. S. C.
1. Q. What are the two laws of the attraction of gravitation? A. (1) Gravity is proportioned to the quantity of matter, and (2) the force of gravity varies as the square of the distance from the center of the attracting body.
2. Q. What is the original form of matter? A. Gas.
3. Q. What is inertia? A. If a body is at rest, inertia is that quality by which it will forever remain so, unless acted upon by some force from without; and if a body is in motion, it will continue on at the same speed, in a straight line, forever, unless it is quickened, retarded, or turned from its path by some other force.
4. Q. What is the result of the action of attraction and inertia upon two revolving bodies? A. They circle about each other as long as these forces endure.
5. Q. What would be the solution of the problem of a simple revolution of one world about another in a circular orbit? A. It would always be at the same distance from its center, and going with the same velocity.
6. Q. In the case of the moon, how many causes are there that interfere with such a simple orbit? A. Over sixty.
8. Q. Through what do all the light and heat of the sun that appear upon our earth come? A. Through space that is two hundred degrees below zero, and through utter darkness.
9. Q. At what velocity does light travel? A. One hundred and eighty-five thousand miles per second.