The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 18, 1896, Page 17

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, R COSMIC SHOWER Great Swarm of Shooting Stars Visible Next Month Every Thirtg-']'}\ree VYears the Phenomenon Recurs--What [s Expected on the Night of the 13th Toward the close of the present century, probably in 1899, the world will again witness the great mereor shower that occurs every thirty-three years. This is the rarest of celestial phenomena visible | at night time. Hundreds of thousands of shooting stars streaked the heavens with radiance for hours in succession on the last occasion in 1866-67. also in 1833-34, and in 1799, when observed by Humboldt in South America; and the historic record of the periodic display, which dates back nearly a thousand years, turnishes similar accounts, As the visibility of the swarm is not confined to every thirty- thira year, but commences a few years before, and lingers on a few years after that period, it is now expected that during next month the foremost ranks of the ad- vancing bost will make their appearance in unusual numbers. Even as early as 1892 Professor Barnard of the Yerkes Observatory saw some indi- cations of this, though the intervening years revealed only the few stragglers of the swarm usually seen on the 13th of No- vember or about that date, for it requires some days for the earth to pass the inter- section of the meteoric path. The clear skies of California and the favorable weather often seen in November make it a vantage-ground for such an observation. No doubt, as on previous occasions, the Mount Hamllton astron- omers will carry on a co-overative watch on several steep heights and thus detsr- mine the orbit of the swarm with the de- sired accuracy. From the bay, with the City as a background, one may easily obtain an exceptionally good visual observation of the expected phenomenon. Tamalpais, now so easy of access, will probably be selected by many local observers for a long night vigil, as even visually it is worth many a weary watch to witness the effect from such a magnificent standpoint. Even an ascent to any of the City heights, where a clear view of the horizon all round is obtained, and with the local scenery of bay, hills and ocean canopied by such a rare and wonder/ul night scepe, will fully repay the fatigue endured. Such a celestial vigil would be an invigorating change from the glare, heat and suffoca- tion of the theater or ordinary night en- tertainment, even if the great star shower failed to appear. During an eight hours’ watch on the 13th of last November thirty-seven swift, pale-tinted Leonids were seen streaking the southern constellations, This is the name given to the November star shower that seems to radiate from the constella- tion of Leo. When a number of shooting meteors streak the firmament the area from which they all retreat in common, in divergent tracks, is named the radiant point, and it shows the direction in space from which they apprcach the earth’s orbit. - Scientific investigation carried on chiefly within the last sixty-three years hasshown that myriads® of small, dark bodies are circling through interplanetary spaces, sometimes singly, oiten in groups, and also in immense swarms; that in weight they range from many tons toa few grains or less, and while too small to be seen individually shining by reflected sunlight and too far apart to glimmer conjointly, occasional friction with the earth’s atmo- sphere gives them a luminosity that re- veals their existence. When a small, cold, bard body ranging the realms of space with tremendous speed encounters even the vapory envelope of the swiftly moving earth the twofold velocity heats it to a blaze and generally reduces it to ashes in a few seconds. Hence the falling star that in golden script tells the route of the unseen host that is speeding by. The scientific observer marks the aspect, mo- tion, distance orspectrum of the luminous wanderer, and if it falls to the earth before being consumed analyzes its constituents. Composed only of such well-known sub- stances as 1ron, stone and sodium it never- theless bears the brand of its non-ter- restrial origin and also the traces of its fiery flight. Th- Leonids belongs to the largest of known swarms. In a long el- liptic orbit, intersecting that of the earth at one point and extending beyond that of the planet Uranus at the opposite curve, they revolve round the sun in about thirty-three and a quarter years, the elongated stream taking some years 10 cross the path of our planet. But the grand mystery of the meteoric host is their unexplained relationship to the wandering comet, so unlike in aspect and | ways and still so evidenily entangled in some common bond. Schiaparelli of Milan, so famed for the discovery of the canals of Mars, was the first to detect & { connection between a comet and a meteor shower, the Perseids, the comparatively small shower seen in August. In Decem- ber, 1865, a small comet was seen from Marseilles, which received the name of its discoverer, Tempel. It arrived at its verihelion in January and the following November appeared the wonderful meteoric display of 1866. When the orbits were calculated some time afterward by different observers they were found to be identical, thus showing that the swarm was following in the path of the comet. Foremost among American observers in computations and theories connected with meteoric asitronomy was the late Professor H. A. Newton of Yale University, who died but a few weeks ago. He inclined to the opinion that shooting stars were caused by the gradual aisin- tegration of comets. Not long ago at a meeting of the American Philosophical Society, in speaking of thiy subject, he explained that the sun was the cause of the different directions sometimes taken by the disintezrated particles of a comet. “The material,”” he stated, “‘that goes off from the comet, after it leaves it, is sub- ject to a force like that of attraction, but differing from it in intensity. In the case of the tail, it 1s a repulsive force.”’ In further explanation of this unsettled problem, he added: “It looks to me as though there was adisintegration all along the line of the comet's orbit, giving us small particles with all sorts of loads of electricity, and all sorts of differences of central attraction and differences of orbits, and thus they get widely scattered, soas to give us the showers a long distance from the comet itself.”” Other astronomers, however, consider that the meteor condition is prior to the cometary condition, while Professor East- rman of Washington is of opinion that the connection is unproven, though atleast four comets =re known to have cer- tainly moved in the paths of meteor swarms. This cautious view is entitled to much consideration, as about a hundred mete- oric orbits are known with which there seems to be no cometary conpection. On the other hand, the vastness of space even within the solar system discourages the beiief that two distinct formations could select one path with all its peculiar curves unless forced to do so by sume irresistible bond. Some computers account for the difference of the periods of a comet and its SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1869. 17 The City’s Outline Under the Wonderful Meteoric Shower That Is Expected to Be Visible on the Night of the 13th of November. with elaborate and expensive contrivances who can engage in valuable observations. The radiant points of the meteor swarms bave been necessarily decided by visual estimates. The falling star gives no time for measurements. Any aitenfive star- gazer that has a celestial globe or map in readiness can mark on it the seeming routes, and then at leisure prolong them in the directions contrary to that of the flights. The meeting point of the various lines will be the radiant of the swarm, for as they really approach the earth in nearly parallel lines their divergent tracks area matter of perspective from our standpoint. Or if two persons co-operate and watch some miles apart, fixing their attention on one constellation and noting the mo- ment of flight, the difference of the seem- ing positions of identical meteors will be aclew to their height from the earth’s sur- face. At duskt on November 13 the ra- diant point in Leo will be near the nadir and the Leorids may be then Jooked for equally all round the heavens, but before morning this will change as Leo rises in the east and approaches the zenith. While it may be premature to expect too much | this year, still if preparation were not made and the shooting stars appeared in greater numbers the omissicn could not be remedied until far into the next cen- tury. In astronomical work forecast is often of high value. Rose O’ HALLORAN. The Vibrations of Light One of the most promising fields for in- ventors, one in which may be reaped great fortune, is that of 1llumination. The perfect light is yet a thing of the future True, very great progress has been made in the matter of lighting our homes and workshops, our churches, theaters and streets, but there is very much more to be accomplished before it can be said, that in all respects, our artificial light is per- fect. The science of natural physics teaches that all light is due to vibration. That the red light of the spectrum is red be- cause it is the optical expression of “‘some- thing” vibrating at a speed of over thirty- seven ‘trillions per second of time. That the violet light is%iolet because it is the optical expression of the same ‘“‘some- thing'’ vibrating at a speed of eighty- seven trillicns per second, and that the other color-lights are the cptical expres- sions of vibrations of-the ‘‘something’’ at speeds intermediate between the rates of the red and the violet. The “something’ is the matter fiiling all interstellar space. When the vibrations of all the color- lights are present the optical expression of color is merged into a whole, producing what is termed *‘white” light. Some very curious and interesting ex- periments have recently been made in the matter of light-vibration which are extremely suggestive. A glass globe hav- ing the air exhausted from it was brought within the aura, or fiela, of an electric exciter, when it at once became Iuminous. HIGH ART IN AUTUMHN CAPES Beautiful Fantastic Creations That Gost Mints of Cash and Liots of Artistic Imagination Few women there are who would not appreciate a coat of black velvet, which fits tightly in the back and is cut away almost in a short zouave fashion to show a deep belt of hya- cinth-tinted miroir velvet, which also forms the vest and revers, decked with an applique of Brussels point, edged with a fine frill of the same, while over the shoulders are rich collars of the finest chinchilla, and outstanding round the neck is a collar of gold tissue worked with glittering hyacinth beads on thick The lining is of hyacinth-coiored silk, and a guipure flowers. frill of Brussels point peeps from the hem. garment, almost equally worthy of admiration, is one of black satin embroidered in jet sequins and striped with broad bands The lining is of black and white striped Chinchilla outlines the shoulder, and the collar encircling the neck is tied with velvet bows. Very handsome is a cape of black velours covered with an applique of green velvet traced with jet, with steei and with | green chenille and gold. The smallest of black ostrich tips edgze the cape, iarger feathers and chiffon kilted form the collar, and | at the back a pleat of the velvet is tightly drawn in and held of black velvet ribbon, silk with a pale chine pattern upon it. with a buckle of fine rhinestones. Very popular, d oubtless, will also be a creation recalling the styles of 1830. The especial one to which I allude is of a bright green velvet (one of the new greens, which must be seen to be fully appreciated), with a yoke gathered round the ehoulder line in bouillonnes,whence falls a-frill of heavily jetted lace, beneath which appears a frill of green velvet. A truly fascinating t e feet. straps of skunk. kiltings of chiffon. coat of black velvet velvet. One of the latest sealskin capes has large revers and uprig bt collar; the latter turns down in front in points. A carriage or evening coat of richest moire velours lined with satin is one of the latest models. Russian sable and a sable flounce ufder a ribbon ruche sur- rounds the square yoke and forms a deep point behind Watteau backs in two organ flates. the figure under the Watteau pleat in front. A scarf of soft silk forms a bow behind the collar and 1s clasped by a diamond buckle at the throat, falling gracefully to It has a fringe of sable tails. better is carried out in a white silk closely covered with a tiny blue flower, which shows a yoke and collar of pale blue velvet traced with silver and damante; three quillings of pale blue satin ribbon adorn the hem and over the shoulders fall long Yet another beautiful model. as a pale green tinsel brocade long coat, with a pattern in pink, and shows a distinct novelty in its trimming of three rows of fur heaaed with jet beads. jabot-like revers of pale green trimmed with fur and elaborate The collar is lined with Two sable heads fasten the cloak to A design I like far It is described This has a Watteau back, double Cream-colored lace falls lightly over the epaulettes of pleated chiffon on the shoulders, and the sleeves are of bell shape, while the lining is of pale pink. A short sack has a conventional design of green velvet traced with gold and jet epaulettes, and collar of caracule, and the coat falis away to show a belt both back and front of green SUNSHINE AT NIGHT Startling Possibilities of a Perfect Light from Vibration Tesla's Experiments and the Universal Force That Gives Power to All Things and Inheres in All The globe contained no filament, as does the incandescent lamp, neither was it connected by any wires to the electrical machine. Yet it gave out light. The phenomenon is explained by the experimenter, Tesla, thusly: The ex- haustion is mnot carried to an absolute vacuum, and under the influence of elec- trical excitement produced by an aura of extremely high-tensioned electricity the atomic particles of matter remaining in the globe are driven from side to side of the globe with inconceivable rapidity, and the fierce bombardment of these invisible atoms impinging upon the walls of the globe produce “the light. If Mr. Tesla had said that he had so exhausted the globe as to produce within its walls an approximation of the density of interstellar space, and that he had then, by the presence of a hign potential electrical field, excited the atoms within the globe toa rate of vibration agreeing with that of light he would have told the truth in plainer lanzuage. But while Tesla’s light is as yet along way from being a practical illuminator it is of great value in showing the possibili- ties'of future illumination. It demon- strates far more and clearer than does any other known experiment the electrical character of light. I mean by this not the production of light by or from electricity, but the fact that as between electricity and light there is only a difference in the rate of their respective vibrations. There is no good reason why human genius should not be able to construct a light operating solely by vibration and re- quiring no special electrical machine for 1ts maintenance. That it will be produced in the near future is the belief of many whose world-wide reputations as practical scientists remove them from all fears of being called visignary. Such will be the perfect light. safe and not detrimental to health. In the mind of the student.of science, no matter in what special field his inves- tigations have been conducted, there is one dominant idea, the crystallization of all the philosophy acquired as the result of long and patient research, the axiom born of his labors, thus expressed: All nature is motion. The geologist, the chemist, the astronomer, the biologist, alike agree in summing up the result of their various studies, experiments and in- vestigations, as establishing the fact that Cheap, WONDERFUL GROWTH OF A HILES GRAPEVINE meteoric debris and for any differences detected in the orbit by the theory of planetary interference. Indeed the pres- ent orbit of the Leonids and their a'tend- ant comet may be due to the attraction of the planet Uranus, near which they must have passed in the year A. D. 126, accord- ing to the French mathematician and astronomer Leverrier, who was so instru- mental in discovering this cometary con- nection. It is to test the accuracy of all former observations, from which so many inter- esting deductions have been made, and by means of the new appliances and methods unknown on the last occasion to either confirm or refute them, that the astronomers are now preparing to in- vestigats the foremost wing of the flying host. If a premature large shower should escape scientific scrutiny and be merely a hearsay, important evidence would have to be supplied by unsatisiactory con- jecture. Dr. Eikin of Yale College has de- vised an instrument for the special pur- pose of photographing meteors, and bis plans have been effectively carried out by Warner & Swasey of Cleveland, who con- structed the mounting of the Lick tele- scope. Itis a sextuple pnotographic tele- scope, or rather a combination of six tele- scopes with cameras attached, mounted on the one polar axis, guided by the same motions and circles and controlled by one operator. Jointly they can picture an area of the firmament equal to thatcovered by 2400 fuil moons, In the meantime other single telescopes will be placed a few miles distant, and by means of electrical connections co-operat- ive motions will take place in &ll simul- taneous'y. The object is to accomplish as much as posrible in a limited time, ana this is exactly what is needed for meteoric photo:raphy. The spectrum of a shoot- ing star is a difficult observation to take, but owing to the skill and zeal of those enegaged in that branch of astronomy it will probably be obtained very correctly before the enda of the century. It is not, however, only those equipped | There has come into bearing this season, on the ranch of the California Nursery Company, near Niles, a most remarkable new variety of grapevine that promises to be of the greatest importance to the wine- growing industry of the State and also to the producers of table grapes. The new variety of grape is the result of graftinga cutting of a Royal Isabella on the root of a common Isabella. As a consequence it has qualities unknown before. How it was brought about is purely a matter of speculation, but most likely through what is known as “bud variation.” This is not thoroughly understood, but many able writers say it is on account of the mixture of the pollen of different plants either by 1nsects or the wind. The new grape while possessing all the qualities of the native American Isabella has the flavor of the Asiatic and Spanish varieties. ‘This seems to be all that is de- gired as a wine grape, for it is phylloxera proof and full of fine-flavored juice. The new vine is only two years old and yet it has more grapes on it than any other vine on the ranch. Ordinarily grapes are not supposed to be in bearing at all until they are four years old, but the ancestry of the new grape makes this quality of the vine only a natural consequence. “This new vine,” said John Rock, when exhibiting the vine, ‘‘will most likely prove to be the most important addition to the viticulture of California that has been made in many years. From present indications it will practically double the bearing capacity of the vineyard in which it grows. 1t is the most prolific bearer that I have ever seen. If the older vines show the same, and ['see no reason why they should not, an 80-acre vineyard can grow as much grapes of the dry-wine va- riety 2s a 150-acre can with any of the vines we have to-day. “It is, of course, impossible to say ex- actly what the new grape will produce when it comes to growing it in different localities, but there is little doubt but that it will do all that it should do from the calculations we can make now. It will be several years before we have any amount of cuttings to send out. This year there will be about fifty cuttings from this vine and the next yearabout ten irom each of the new vines. The third year we should have about 10,000 young vines and the fourth year enough to distribute.” As the vine appears in the accompany- ing drawing there are no leaves in front of the grapes, but these were all cut off at the time the photograph was made so as to show them. all nature is in motion. There is going on a continual transmutation of elements and existences. Nowhere is there found abso- lute rest. It is nothing new to make such announcement, and yet it is spoken of as the keynote of the new science. It is be- cause men, in their struggle, to attain accomplishment of the desires of the moment,.have been interested only in the results and not in the causes, that the trne coaception of the universal power has not been had. In the mad race for dollars mankind bas had no time for the analysis of philosophy. The metaphysician is an unwelcome stranger in the halls of the money changer, and his pnilosophy the recipient of contempt. Yet there have always been a few, rapidly increasing their numbers to-day, who hold that meta- physics is not a mere empty bubble, but a philosophy of life. Iuwas taught by the ancients that every- thing in the universe was of a homogene ous nature and based upon one common substance that they called “primary mat- ter.” Aristotle declared that “all things are convertible into all things.”” The greatest difficulty in the way of propagating scientific. truth is the over- coming of the belief in so-called scientific teachings that are the veriest myths, the respect for which is founded solely upon personal regard for th- men who brougut them into the world. Tyndall has a high claim in the temple of science; yet he has placed some very heavy loads upon the car of science. In his “Fragments of Sci- ence, Vol. IL,” he says, ‘“There is no cre- ative energy whatever in the vegetable or animal organism.” Here Tyndall was wrong. There is a creative energy which works intelligently in the vegetable and animal organism, as is proved by nature’s pow~r to repair injuries. An injury to an organ is always repaired as far as possible according to the original plan of that organ, never according to some other plan. Just now it is dawning upon the minds of studious men that in all of the phenom- ena of material life there is a something which possesses more than a chance relaj tionship; a something that is not ex- piained by the assumption of ‘“‘coinci- dence,” and that something is vibration. We find in light seven colors, based upon the primaries. In sound we find seven notes, forming a scale that is based upon three primary tones. In the case of light the different hues are fixed by the rate of their vibrations. In the case of sound the tones are also fixed by the rate of their vibrations. The science of petrology—the science of rocks—teaches that different rocks are distinguished by the differences in the arrangement of the crystals forming the rock. And here again we find the arrangement of the seven baseu on the triad. As yet, mankind 1s only upon the thresh- old of what is known as electricity. That wonderful something which, for want of a better term, we call electrical energy, who has seen it? Who knows what it actually is? Recently there has come upon the world a few men whose minds, un- trammeled by dogmatic teachings, have felt the touch of truth, and boldly reach- ing out have grasped some little knowl- edge of the universal power. Tesla has partly opened the gate. He has harnessed a few of the vibrating waves of light, and the so-called ‘scientific world” stands awe-stricken as it witnesses the marvelous demonstrations of his labors. He draws from the ambient air a flaming crown, lights his workshop with the luminosity of sunlight, without wires; charges the human body with a current of a miliion of volts intensity, in utter defiance of all pre- conceived ideas; and applying his knowl- edge to practice produces the most perfect electro-motor and dynamo known to elec- trical science. The rotary field dynamo devised by Nicola Tesla has revolution- ized the construction of electrical power mechanism. Each and all of Tesla’s experiments and inventions are based upon a recognition ot the fundamental power of vibration. The few simple illustrations supplied by men like Tesla serve to ‘call atlention to the great truth that all matier rests upon acommon basis, which is vibration. The difference between the nebulg in the con- stellation of Orion and the paper you are now reading is simply a difference in the rate of vibration of the two objects. It was a theory, it is to-day a theory, sup- ported by some old-view physicists, that the intersteilar space was occupied by an indefinable, unexplainable substance called ‘‘ether.” The fact is that interstel- lar space is filled with matter—hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen ana their com- pounds, besides solid material in the shape of dust. The so-called elements are doubt- less in a highly rarefied gaseous condition. ‘They are in constant motion—constantly vibrating. Each sun of the universe ex- ercises its magnetic attraction upon the matter of space, causing it to flow to them at their poles, changing its rate of vibra- tion to that of heat, and then again re- turning it from their equators to the great cosmic reservoir. There cannot ever be a ‘‘death of the sun’ in the sense of what we term ‘“'death,” statements of wise men like Newcomb et al. to the contrary not- withstanding. Throughout all that por- tion of the universe understandable by hu- man sense there is unceasing vibration. in the phenomena of human life the power of vibration is very plain. The sphygmograph is an instrument by which the beat of the pulse may be recorded in a tracing of wavy lines upon a moving strip of paper. The serrated, wavy line- is dif- ferent with different individuals. Itshows the rate of the arterial vibration. Attach the sphygmograph to the wrist of a person and allow the person to go to sleep. The tracings upon the paper appear regular and characteristic of the subject. But while the subject is sleeping allow another person to clasp hold of the subject’s arm and at on ce the sphygmograph exhibits evidence of theinterjected vibration. The character of the recorded line is changed, and if the vibratory force of the intruder be strongest the record will be of that rate, to the extinguishment of the lesser. Slowly but surely the higher intellects are grasping the knowledge of vibratory force. Necessarily the advance in appli- cation must be slow, but as the knowledge progresses more Teslas will appear, and the coming age will witness the utiliza- tion to the ends of mechanics. Then wiil it be that the triad of dimensional space will broaden into the understanding ofthe other dimensions based upon the familiar three of depth, breadth and length, just as the multi-colors of the spectrum are born of the red, yellow and blue. F. M. Crosg, D.Se.