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PUBLISHERS NOTICES 



The Guide to Nature 



AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS. DEVOTED TO COMMON- 

 PLACE NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST. 



PUBLISHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION. OFFICE: 113 GROVE ST., STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT. 



Subscription, $1.50 Per Year. Single Copy, 15 Cents. 

 Entered as second-class matter, April 6, 1908, at the Post Office at Stamford, Conn., under the act of March 3, 1879. 



ENLARGING AND IMPROVING. 



The Guide to Nature grows steadily 

 —in circulation, advertisements, inter- 

 est, illustrations, size and general ap- 

 pearance. 



With no little pride do we call atten- 

 tion to the new cover design. It was 

 drawn by Walworth Stilson, whose dain- 

 ty and expressive handling of pencil, 

 pen and brush in beautiful portrayal of 

 nature reminds one in many respects of 

 that master naturalist-artist, the lament- 

 ed William Hamilton Gibson. 



We have added eight pages, and have 

 made still more room for reading matter 

 by setting several department pages in 

 "8 point" instead of "10 point" type as 

 heretofore. 



In new features we have in this num- 

 ber an excellent article by Miss Char- 

 lotte M. Hoak, our Los Angeles mana- 

 ger, on "Interesting; Desert Forms of 

 Plant Life." This is of especial interest 

 to naturalist-tourists in the southwestern 

 part of our country. 



That interest in the magazine is stead- 

 ily increasing was shown in part by let- 

 ters from twenty-five subscribers pub- 

 lished in the August number. 



At last we have for the adult a nature 

 magazine that is really worth while — 

 not only for what it now is but for what 

 it promises to be. 



We are grateful to all patrons who 

 in this, the first of our "four great 

 special numbers," have enabled us to 

 take this long step in advance. The in- 

 dications are that all future issues will 

 have a similar, perhaps even a greater 

 value and effectiveness. 



AN IMPROVED PLANISPHERE. 



Star gazers will find a most ingenious 

 and helpful aid in their observation of the 

 stellar worlds in the Barritt-Serviss Star 

 and Planet Finder. It is a revolving plan- 

 isphere map showing only the stars that are 

 plainly visible to the naked eye, and, in 

 addition, introduces the Sun, Moon and 

 planets by a system of needle-pointed thumb 

 tack discs which are entered upon the plane 

 of the ecliptic by a conveniently arranged 

 table accompanying the chart and covering 

 a period of twenty years — one year to a 

 page. The ecliptic is plainly shown upon 

 the map by a red line divided into 360 

 degrees and numbered every fifteen degrees. 

 The Book of Tables tells upon what date 

 and degree to enter the disc when, by setting 

 the day of the month on the margin of the 

 revolving map opposite the desired hour of 

 observation, the Stars and Planets on view 

 at that hour will show in an opening in the 

 top of the map. When properly placed the 

 time of the rising or setting of the sun, 

 moon or any planet or star can be very 

 closely approximated. It is a most decided 

 advance and improvement upon any map of 

 the heavens for popular use, requiring no 

 technical knowledge, and is receiving the 

 highest endorsement of professional as- 

 tronomers, navigators and laymen as it does 

 away with the necessity of working out the 

 positions of the planets from the sideral 

 time as given in the Nautical Almanac. 



The planets Venus and Jupiter are the 

 most beautiful stars in the heavens — and 

 Mars and Saturn when in opposition exceed 

 in brilliancy the first magnitude stars — 

 Venus and Jupiter always exciting comment 

 by their splendor, especially the former, 

 which is now very beautiful in the morning 

 sky. Heretofore the layman has had no 

 means of distinguishing these wanderers of 

 the sky, but with this apparatus he can 

 easily do so. 



It is 15x15 inches square, strong and 

 durably put together, and with fair usage 

 should last a life time. 



