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THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

of the planet; that the sun is radiating its heat; that the condi- tions of organic existence are destined to deteriorate; that slowly but surely the capacity of the earth for sustaining life will diminish; and that man, almost without knowing it, will display

DIAL-OF THE- COSMIC-DAY ~ACE-OF-THE-EARTH

less and less vigor until he grows imbecile and at last disappears along with all organic life, leaving the earth a dead star, com- parable to our moon. This is all probably true, but let us see what practical interest it has for us.

It is mainly a question of temperature. No one will deny that during the historic period the temperature of the earth,