material resources of life. Seeing the value of a knowledge that goes below the surface of things, in 1852 he wrote his conviction that, "ere long, a knowledge of the principal truth of chemistry will be expected in the political economist and statesman, as it already is held indispensable to the manufacturer and physician." And, seeing the meanings and the mysteries that cluster around the primary forms of matter, he wrote at another time: "It is not the mere practical utility of these truths which is of importance. Their influence upon mental culture is most beneficial; and the views acquired by knowledge of them enable the mind to trace, in the phenomena of Nature, proofs of an infinite wisdom—for the unfathomable depths of which language has no expression."
| THE ZODIACAL LIGHT.[1] |
By Professor C. E. BRAME, A.M.
THE purpose of this contribution is to draw attention to a phenomenon which has received too little notice, and has been strangely neglected by astronomers, but which, in fact, if the conclusions of the author of the work under review are correct, is to the inhabitants of the earth one which emanates from a very near and remarkable cosmical body.
The third volume of "The United States Japan Expedition" records a series of observations on the zodiacal light, which were made by Rev. George Jones, A.M., chaplain in the United States Navy, from April 2, 1853, to April 22, 1855, during which time he accompanied that expedition sent out by the United States Government, under the command of Commodore M. C. Perry. It also contains the observations and theories of other astronomers, particularly those made by the celebrated Dominicus Cassini, a distinguished savant of the seventeenth century, attached to the Royal Observatory at Paris, who was the greatest cosmologist of that age.
The deductions of our author are—1. That the zodiacal light is emitted by a nebulous ring, with the earth for its centre; that is, there is a ring of nebulous matter around the earth; 2. That 60° is the full width of the stronger light, and 90° its full width including the diffused light; 3. That it is on both sides of the ecliptic; 4. That it may be seen in some latitudes under favorable circumstances, forming a continuous arch across the heavens; 5. That it must rotate on a com-
- ↑ Third volume, United States Japan Expedition. "Observations on the Zodiacal Light from April 2, 1853, to April 22, 1855; made chiefly on board the United States Steam-frigate Mississippi, during her Cruise in the Eastern Seas and her Voyage homeward; with Conclusions from the Data thus obtained." By Rev. George Jones, A.M., Chaplain, U.S. Navy.
