276 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



destruction of the tile-fish in the North At- 

 lantic. For the future it hopes to extend 

 its general inquiries ; to promote improve- 

 ment in methods and apparatus of fishing, 

 and in fishing-vessels ; to determine the ex- 

 tent and general character of the old fishing 

 localities and discover new ones ; to improve 

 methods of curing and packing fish for the 

 market ; and to continue the work of in- 

 creasing the supply of valuable fishes in the 

 waters of the United States. 



Report of the Operations of the United 

 States Life-Saving Service for the Year 

 ending June 30, 1883. Washington: 

 Government Printing- Office. Pp. 519. 



One hundred and ninety-four stations 

 were maintained at the close of the year 

 covered by the report one hundred and 

 forty-nine on the Atlantic, thirty-seven on 

 the lakes, seven on the Pacific, and one 

 at the Falls of the Ohio. The number of 

 disasters to documented vessels and small 

 boats was 416, in which $7,242,729 of prop- 

 erty and 4,040 persons were involved, while 

 $5,671,700 of the property and 4,021 per- 

 sons were saved, and 651 shipwrecked per- 

 sons were succored at the stations. Twenty- 

 two other persons were rescued who had 

 fallen from wharves, piers, etc. Ten dis- 

 asters, involving the loss of lives, took place 

 within the scope of the service. All of the 

 nineteen persons lost were entirely beyond 

 human aid. 



Researches on Solar Heat and its Absorp- 

 tion dy the Earth's Atmosphere. By 

 S. P. Langley. Washington: Govern- 

 ment Printing - Office. Pp. 242, with 

 Plates. 



Professor Langley's observations are 

 already quite well known to the scientific 

 world, and their value is universally acknowl- 

 edged. They were made on the slopes of 

 Mount Whitney, at a height of twelve thou- 

 sand feet above the sea, and about three thou- 

 sand feet below the summit of the mountain, 

 with special instruments of the observer's 

 own devising. Notices of some of the re- 

 sults have been given in the " Monthly." 

 The author expresses the opinion that Mount 

 Whitney is an excellent station for such ob- 

 servations, fully equal to any that is pos- 

 sessed by any other nation ; and, upon his 

 recommendation, it has been declared a Gov- 



ernment reservation, available for purposes 

 of scientific research. Professor Langley 

 records some very interesting facts respect- 

 ing a dust-cloud which appears to hang in 

 the Sierras at a certain height above the 

 sea, the effects of which he was able to ob- 

 serve from his camp, and which appears to 

 be permanent. Professor Clarence King as- 

 cribes its origin to the loess of China. The 

 author also speaks of large logs, which were 

 found to be quite numerous on the mount- 

 ain- side at a considerable height above the 

 timber-line, as indicating that the region 

 formerly enjoyed a warmer climate than it 

 now has. The relation of the observations 

 which formed the object of the expedition 

 is very important and interesting to men of 

 science, but too technical for the edification 

 of general readers. 



The Stars and Constellations. By Royal 

 Hill. New York : Funk & Wagnalls. 

 Pp. 32. 



This work is intended to enable students 

 and others, who are interested in the ap- 

 pearance of the heavens, to identify the 

 principal objects of interest without refer- 

 ence to star-maps, which as a general thing 

 are very perplexing to unprofessional read- 

 ers. The plan adopted by the author is 

 new, and constitutes the main feature of 

 the work. It consists in the employment of 

 two accurately drawn time-charts, giving 

 the exact time of rising and southing for 

 every day in the year, of twenty-five of the 

 brightest stars, which are more distinctly 

 identified in the text. From the positions 

 of these " landmarks of the sky," any oth- 

 er object at all likely to attract the atten- 

 tion of naked-eye observers is so described 

 that it is very difficult for any person of or- 

 dinary intelligence to miss the information 

 desired. As each object is identified, the 

 student can learn whatever is of interest 

 concerning it by consulting the separate 

 account that is given of every conspicuous 

 star and constellation visible in this country. 

 The subject is suitably introduced by some 

 interesting information concerning the con- 

 stellations, the names and numbers of the 

 stars, and the methods adopted by astrono- 

 mers to designate them. It is illustrated 

 by several very clear maps of the zodiacal 

 constellations, upon which the place of the 



