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i c Magazine s'"ZJ Jfljj Half f afe- ptfbtfue isur,octofaw3.i

i , ODD FACTS ABOUT MARS 1

W m fi ARS is the fourth planet from the

sun an nearest to our

I v I earth.

jfi It is called the red planet, and its color

I is thought to be due to vegetation.

i ' Its size and density are less than ours,

Id's and a man weighing 200 pounds here would !

fm only weigh seventy-five pounds there.

Mars has atmosphere, seasons, land,

y!?H water, storms, clouds and mountains.

"H Mars has i-wr. "'o -

H only 3,700 miles awa.y and revolves around

?!i it ni seven and a half 'houvs ? phoot-

fciji': ing star.

h "ie on arB s an nour logger

Swj than ours, and its year contains 687 days.

5l5 Professor Lowell has counted 437

41' "canals" on Mars, and 186 " oases." The

'3K canals vary in length from 250 miles to

5w 3,000 miles.

?i5 man 011 ars wuld be able to drive

ft a golf ball fifty miles.

$ The strength of a man on Mars would

itS be eighty-three times greater than on the

earth.

fm The atmosphere of Mars consists

d?M principally of carbonic acid gas.

5m The water supply of Mars is very

SSl slender,, and its utilization is the greatest

II problem of life there.

Hi t TARS ,s tne nearost Planet to

x-teij IV J. ti,0 mo3t plainly anil the

faSJ first ono v;liicU we shall be r.ble

to visit when, science makes a

Journey beyond our atmosphere

possible.

Mars, moreover, is proved by as

J"s,i Irouomy to possess air atmospbere

und to be capable of supporting

abi Ufo in some iorm,

-mSiS TheBo facts make it natural that

Ecientists'and writers 6bould specu

'pa! lalo upon the character of the life

sJ upon liars. It must as yet be spec

: illation, for our means o seeing

jij only enablo us to distinguish ob

& Jects several miles in extent upon

the planet

. , ilany interesting theories about

i hi tte life of Mars have been put

iafc forward, but all of them have been

jb open to some objection. Professor

Laa : Percival Lowell, of the Flagstaff

' Obaervatory in Arizona, has argued

1(y9 that the so-called canals of Mars sire

sflr1 . vast engineering works, and con

5," ' cequently that the inhabitants who

ffyti bailt thera were of great intellectual

lajfeij development. The scientific novel-

m'?M H G- Wel,B' bas builL an ox-

$f-2m tremely interesting story ou the

basis Hint the Martians are octopus

like creatures, without bony struc

ture, but possessed of highly devel

oped brains. A common assumption of

many speculators has been that

the Martians are extremely at

tenuated creatures, because the

slight pressure of gravity on the

surface of the planet would favor

this form.

Now a new and exceedingly inter

esting theory concerning the life

on Mars has been put forward by

Professor William Wallace Camp

bell, of the great Lick Observatory,

California. He suggests that all

life ou Mars has taken a vegetable,

form.

ThlK. -ttfGory Is one of the most

plausible that bns been put

forward. It has the support of all

the facts about Mars that have been

scientifically established and it

avoms many of the improbabilities

involved In other theories on the

same 3ubjecL t

The vegetation theory rests pri

marily on the fact proved by spec

troscopic analysis that there is an

enormous proportion of carbonic

acid gas In the atmosphere of Mars

which would make animal ijfG n'f.

the kind known to the earth er

coedingly dllfleull, if not impossible,

while it would greatly favor the

development of vegetation.

Before considering this theory

.further, we must bear in mind a

few of the proved facts about Mars.

It has atmosphere, seasons, land,

wator. storms, clouds and moun

tains. It also rains and snows on

Mars, as it does with us. Great

white patches appear periodically

upon Its surface. These may be

accumulations of snow and they

have also been called "eyes." Their

nature will be discussed later.

When Mars approaches nearest to

the earth it is. seen to. have a. bright

rod color and sometimes looks like

a red lamp in the sky. It has been

suggested that the vegetation for

tho most part Is yellow or orange

instead of green, as with us, thus

giving the planet its color.

Mars has two moons, the near

est of which Is but 3,700 miles away

and revolves around the planet in

seven hours and a half, showing

all the phases of our moon in one

night.

The density and size of Mars

.or ins, than fhoso of thc earlh

nnd consenucntlv a

Martian Was Conceived by 'H G. Wells to Be an Octopus.

M L3se Creature Without Bony Structure but Having a Highly

Developed Intelligence. Drawing by H. Lanos.

ni.'in who weighed 200

pounds here would only

weigh 75 pounds up

there.

The atmosphere and

moisture of Mars are

very slight, and tho in

habitants, if there bo

any, must find life a dif

ficult problem there.

The water Is confined

entirely to the poles,

whore it is deposited

annually In the form of

a thin lawyor of snow

or hoar frost, only to

melt away again 'with

tho adveut of Summer.

Ages ago life on Mars

must havo concentrated

ItselC ou the problem

of dovlslug some means

whereby tho melting

water of the polar

parts might be con

ducted to those arid re

gions of the temperate

nnd torrid zones,

which would still

blossom if water-

ed. Here .we may

note one of the

strongest arguments tn favor of the

vegetation theory of life.

Professor Lowell has argued that

the canals of Mars, first discovered

by Professor Scbiaparelli, of Milan,

but long considered optical Illusions

by mauv astronomers, are the ir

rigation " works of the inhabitants.

The canals are singularly artificial

in appearance. They extend toward

the equator from the poles and

cover tho planet like a fine. netting.,

Each caual -is tho- shortest dls-.

lance, between two points and in

variably runs to a pclnt called "an

oasis." where it meets other cauals

not lu haphazard fashion, but ac

cording -to some plan.

The "canals" vary in longth from

2r0 miles to over 3,000

miles, a length that is astonishing

when it is considered that thv

diameter of Mars is only 4,220

miles. All told, Professor Lowell

has plotted -137 of tbeso canals and

1S6 oases. It was Professor Pick

ering, a close associate of Profcsso.

Lowell, who first saw these oases

Thc canals of Mars appear am!

disappear with the seasons. In

other words they slowly creep dowu

from the poles encb Spriug and

slowly retreat with tho approach of

Winter. If thc canals are artlficla.

In origin, this phenomenon would

appear to mean that the Martians

are busily engaged in digging stu

pendous canals, only to fill them up

again every year.

Professor Pickering Ingeniously

avoided this embarrassing conclu

sion by pointing out that we see

not the canals themselves, but tho

vegetation which friuges their

banks and thus indicates their

com sc. Vegetation must grow be

fore I lie canol3 aro lsiblo and must

disappear before the cauals vanish.

Here we can see why the theory

that all the life ou Mars is vege

tation is more probable than any

other. Professor Pickering admits

that tho sigus of life we see arc

vegetable, but suggests that then

are the work of man-like creature"

whom we cannot see. But we knu .

The Pitcher Pl.nt Devouring a Rat, an Instance of P)a

Possessing Animal Powers.

Interesting Theory of Prof. Campbell

of Lick Observatory, That Explains

the "Canals," "Eyes," and Other Puz-

iijig Problems of Our Neighbor Planet H

tha'. It wouid be almost impossible

for man-like creatures to live there

It Is most likely theu that vegeta

tion is the only life.

'"it. our knowledge of life on

the earth, it Is quite

conceivable that the

l highest type of in-

A telligence might

dwell in a plant, as

jri plants that we know

gS- possess more or less

EkS Intelligence, and the

Jigjs. fact- that they may

y5gL not. possess the hlgh-

'IjBgi est kind is due to

conditions on the

"iirth which do not

ik: "ist on Mars.

The original genu

of life on earth was

neither animal nor

vegetable. Many

stages of develop

- incut passed before

the two forms of life

: became separated.

l.uw In the scale of

rv life we now soe many

vOir forms .of which .it

"V.'sV cannot be- said posl-

.-'vzi lively that they aro

( But there are some plants on

earth which do posses3 a kind of

nervous system, and it Is quite

reasonable to believe that they

would have developed an intelli

gence at least equal to that of mnn

if conditions h3d been favorable.

Such conditions have prevailed on

Mars. Chief among th m Is an at

mosphere very favorable, to plant

Ufo and very unfavorable to animal

life. .

There are on the earth many

carnivorous plants which though

unmistakably vegetable in form pos

sess many of the powera of animals.

These plants Include the butcher

plant, pitchor plant, the sundew,

the butter wort and, many other

forms. They range from plants

that eat Insects to those that are

capable of devouring birds and

small mammals.

The pitcher plant, for Instance, has

a heavy flesh leaf ten inches long.

With the spiked point of the leal

it strikes a rat, numbing it with

the poison it contains. Then the

lear folds over the animal and it Is

absorbed into 'the body of the plant

and digested.

Other plants, such as the splder-

body over the planet, growing In J

bright orange colored forms. As the H

heat departs these forms die down H

and hide their life in the soil tUl

tho following season. This pro-

duces the appearance of "canals' H

to us. The reason these canals have H

euch a regular form is that the H

vegetation follows the lines of res H

ular cracks which occurred In the H

cruet of Mars when it was drying IH

The vast Intellect of Mars Is oo

cupied with the problems ot gain

lng subsistence from the dying

planet and then with investigations H

of the noundless universe that lies

within its sight. H

The white spot which we some' 1

times see on Mars is not a pile of H

snow, but really an '-'eye." Sup

ported cr. a tenuous flexible trans

parent column, it can raise itself

miles above the surface of the

planet and watch the operations of

its vegetable body at any point. IH

That the movements of this plan

ctnry eye should' have escaped ob

serration from the eye is not sur

prising. Tho canals on Mars have

only been seen by a few. astrono jH

mere, and many excellent scientists

jjH

b iOS "A vast eye, upon a tenuous, flex-

W $0f ? 'rv'J P. ible, transparent neck raises it- 'B

if'aPpW WWrC 'v47 self high above the surface of

WSpf ") N IpPSl Vv . iiK Mars-and can watch the growth

h$W?m$ r'? A. jSffil of its vegetable body upon any

fflSmlg MWWJM part of the surface."

imMiiM The Small Diagrams Below IUus-

trate the OpcriJon of thc plan- H

? .1 mini . ui Mgotabls.

Wlic-jj diseuse bac-

5 lerln were first op-

served It was be

llevca that they wlmm

aniuial. but now tho

prevailing view is

that they are voge

table. Yet they pod.

sess tho power of mo

flon generally char-

k$i act eristic of aulmals.

'$$ One of the great

F differences between

plauts and animals

Is that tho former

have not a brain

a ud nervous system,

; which can be com-

l&sL- lw',-'tl t0 Lhrit of thli

latter. The life of the

Jil?fy plant resides in its

separate cells and

they are only held to-

nt Life. gothcr by their jux

taposition to one an

other and not con

. trolled by a central

eystein.

t

wort, j.ossess eyes, wbich enable it

to turn toward tho suulipht. Those

eyes bear a close resemblance to

human eyes and it ban been proved

bv photography that they receive

imjes of objects which lie in thoir

range of vision.

'Vhcso facts indicate the possi

bilities of vegetable intelligence.

Ages ago, according to the newly

advanced theory, all life ou Mars

took the vegetable form. Animal

races then existing were con

sciously or unconsciously absorbed

into tho vegetable races.

The vegetable life, possessed ot

true Intelligence, then evolved Into

one organic whole in order to ob

tain the greatest advantage from

the liraitod means of sustenance.

Life on Mars Is now ono vast in

tellect supported by a vegetable

bodv having its roots In the soil.

Such a conception of lire -isembles

the vast being into vhich the Budd

hists eay all men will be absorbed.

As the Summer comes on the

huge being on Mars stretches Ils

i

denied their exlF.tei.re for years

after they wore first observed. They.

continued to do so until photographs

were taken of the cauals. The

shifting of the "eye" on Mars, al tM

ready observed by our telescopes. IH

may very possibly havo been duo

to a movement on a transparent

neck as described be re, tho neck

Itself not being visible.

The "eye" exercises the functions

ot watchlug climatic conditions all

over its vegetable body, of sondlqg

help to parts in need and of con

veying external impressions to the

great central Intelligence. This

vegetable body possesses tho power

of distributing strength to its varl

ous parts and of devising new

means of extracting nourishment

from the soil and atmosphere.

When not engaged In watching the

physical condition of its body, the

sreit "eye" makes observations of

tho earth, sun planets, stars and

the whole universe. From it3 vast

sido it Is able to sco more and

farther than all the telescopes ol 1

our earth :ut tcgethcr, i