The distance to the farthest star whose distance can be measured directly is 326 light years. This corresponds to a parallax of 0.01. That is, the radius of the earth's orbit (93 million miles) as seen from the star subtends an angle of 0."01. This is the angle subtended by a foot rule viewed from a distance of 3,900 miles. Our stellar system, in the plane of the Milky Way, is believed to be 30,000 or more light years in diameter. The total number of stars in the entire sky visible to the average unaided eye is between 5,000 and 6,000 (only half the sky is visible to the observer at any one time); the number visible in our most powerful telescopes exceeds 100,000,000. Our sun is simply an ordinary star not above the average star in size or brilliance; its diameter is about 866,000 miles. The diameter of Antares, the brightest star in the constellation of the Scorpion, as determined recently at Mt. Wilson by Michelson's interferometer method, is between 280,000,000 and 400,000,000 miles. If the center of this star were placed at the center of our sun, the surface of Antares would extend out beyond the orbit of Mars, our next outlying neighbour in the solar system. Thus the diameter of Antares is considerably more than 300 times the diameter of our sun; its volume is more than thirty million times the volume of our sun. Its distance from us is about 250 light years.-Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Thomson says: "If our earth had been so clouded that the stars were hidden from man's eye the whole history of our race would have been different-for it was through his leisure-time observation of the stars that man discovered the regularity of the year and got his fundamental impressions of the order of nature-on which all his science is founded." A prominent authority, commenting upon one of the wonders of the universe, says: "In the constellation of the Bull shines fiery red the giant Aldebaran, one of the brightest suns in all the heavens. For nearly an hour and a half our little moon will completely hide the huge sun from sight (in eclipse) although our moon and fifty thousand like it might fall unnoticed on the surface of Aldebaran. If our own earth fell on that star it would melt before reaching the surface, like a snowflake falling on a hot stove." How finely and wisely adjusted in the wisdom and goodness of our great Creator are the orbits, distances, weights and laws governing these wonderful creations which by a slight deflection might cause chaos in the whole universe. TOPICAL SUGGESTIONS: 1. The heavenly bodies; Means of observation; Telescope; Spectroscope; Photography; and "Selenium-cell." 2. Laws governing the heavenly bodies; Centrifugal, centripetal forces and Gravitation bringing the seasons, sustaining life, resulting in the laws of dynamics, pulley, lever, locomotion, checks and balances. 3. Effects of light and heat; Adjustments of the solar system to the needs and wants of man. 4. The American Flag and symbols. Practical uses of Astron omy. 5. Recent discoveries. Star Plaskett; Race of the Planets. Culmination of a night of observation; Vision of the Biblical poet. 6. The wonderful Astronomical Calculations of those toilers of the night. 7. Addison's wonderful concept. 8. Facts, as given by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. N II GEOLOGY EXT to the study of Astronomy, the science of to claim our consideration in showing the goodness of God in creation, relations and adaptations to the welfare of mankind. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." When and how we may not answer. But "in the beginning God created." With the advent of man upon the earth, whether through a series of evolutionary movements bringing him to the upright posture as we see him to-day, appreciative of his relation to the Creator and fellow-man, or by one fell stroke of mighty creative genius and master skill, we find him seeking to understand his relation to his Creator and to solve the mysteries of life and environment. In the science of Geology we have the open book of the creation of the earth, marking the various epochs and long periods of time during which the earth changed on the outward surface from ocean to land and again from land to ocean. These changes are seen in the various strata and formations showing fossils, shells and prehistoric life from which we gather the history of creation, estimating as best we can the various periods through which these changes were wrought. In the carboniferous period, we have the marks of an age when vegetation flourished most luxuriantly. Then followed submergence of this by the waters and other formations, followed by an accumulation of deposits with decay and pressure from which we have our coals and oils stored away for man's use when he reaches the plane of intelligence requiring their use. Then, man's need of power and comfort suggests their application to his welfare through the various means of industrial activities. Necessity becomes the mother of invention and inventive genius. After the carboniferous age and other ages marking the various formations of the body of the earth, we have the Glacial Period and others during which the surface becomes the special object of moulding processes. Mountains are reared by volcanic action and cooling processes of the crust of the earth; valleys are carved out by the erosion of vast glaciers, deposits are made by the glaciers and rivers resulting from melting ice, and the surface is prepared for the habitation of man. It is not our purpose to discuss the many processes by which and through which the earth passed to reach its present condition. It stands approved as a fit habitation for man; but suffice to say that the Creator has worked out with unerring hand His purposes. He has produced large stretches of fertile land for cultivation to serve man for preservation of life. He has placed the waters of the world in splendid proximity to these lands for irrigation and supplying the needed moisture for cultivation. The glaciers and rivers carried down the sediment, and kindly deposited the alluvial soil for cultivation; and the waters and rivers continue to flow. Where the water does not appear on the surface it may lie underneath only a few feet distant to be tapped by spade or drill. What a wise provision also we see in the high and often snow-capped mountain as it stands aloft as a living witness to the wonderful creative genius of God. These high mountains catch the snow and mists of the higher altitudes, which are then clasped in the arms of a cooler strata and congealed into ice for storage until the summer hot winds come to release them for service for man. The melting snows and ices of the mountains continuously contribute their winter savings to the beautiful valleys below as needed. It may be by direct living stream, or by the subterranean route, or by seepage and percolating flow as the waters find their way into the valleys through springs and soils, providing water for wells and fertility to the mountainsides. The forests of the mountains also play no small part in holding back the mountain waters for summer use, as man may need them. The metals, coals, oils, limestone, sands and ores of various descriptions are stored away in the mountains or lie deep underneath the surface of the earth waiting for the coming of man's genius to bring them forth for man's use and happiness. The oceans and seas with their ever-heaving bosoms call to man with fish and food for sustenance. They are also the great storehouses of salt which finds its way to man's table or for commercial use through the many processes of extraction, or through the rock salts of the many mines embedded under ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. This great provision so necessary for man's preservation is so abundantly provided that none need perish. But without it the human family could not exist. Then when we consider the great provision for man in animal and vegetable life, we again marvel at the goodness of God. However, we shall take this up under another head. The Hebrew writer, exulting under the spell of gratitude, says: "The earth is the Lord's and |