The Voice Of Freedom

The Appearance Of The Moon's Surface. At one of the late meetings of the Association of Geologists in New York, Mr. James D. Dana read an exceedingly interesting paper on the appearances on the surface of the moon. The Tribune gives a synopsis of his remarks, which were to the following effect :

The surface of the moon has been minutely studied in a physical point of view, and already many interesting geological discoveries have been made. 1093 lunar heights have been measured by Beer and Madler. [Drawings of several of these mountains were exhibited by Mr. Dana ] One important subject in regard to the moon yet remains unexplained, viz: the immense magnitude of its craters.— One of them has been ascertained to be 150 or 200 miles in diameter, and 25,000 feet deep. The crater Bailey is 149 1-8 statute miles in diameter. It was stated in the report that two-thirds of all the lunar hemisphere in view -composing its southern quarter-are covered with volcanic mountains.. The names, heights, depths and peculiarities of the various craters and mountains of the moon were particularized in the papers of Mr. Dana, and numerous drawings-plans of these elevations and the inside of their craters were shown.— The walls of the craters are frequently so regular as to appear almost artificial. One very singular circumstance observable in them is, that the sides appear more illuminated, more brilliant than the bottoms. May not this be accounted for by the existence of a nebulous light, apparently in the lower portion?

The absence of water in the moon, and the principal volcanoes elsewhere observed, were then treated of: after which were taken up the subjects of the Geology of the volcanic regions, and the distribution of land and water on our globe, as compared with the moon. In the ocean all the islands, except the corals, are of an igneous formation.

When Mr. Dana closed, Prof. Silliman inquired how Mr. Dana would account for the volcanic action of the moon without the agency of water, to produce the vapors always accompanying a volcano? To which Mr. Dana replied that it was not absolutely decided that there is no water in the moon, but that none had yet been perceived. Before he had time to answer Prof. Silliman's special interrogation, the President, Dr. Jackson, remarked that the presence of chlorine in the moon was not improbable-as this substance had been found in the meteoric stones-and might not this be the cause of vapors and lunar volcanoes?