462 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



and especially no excuse for being dull. 

 If you are an uninteresting speaker or 

 writer, you will soon be made to feel 

 your limitations, and should accept the 

 hint as gracefully and gratefully as 

 may be. But if you yourself are really 

 interested, you will be able to interest 

 others. This is the secret of success in 

 every pursuit, and likewise in every 

 amusement. 



"WORK AM) PLAY WONDERFULLY 

 COMBINED," 



REPORT OF Till', JOHNSTOWN (PENNSYL- 

 VANIA) CHAPTER, NO. IOII, OP THE 

 \r,\SSIX ASSOCIATION FOR THE YEAR 

 OF I908. 



During the past year of nineteen 

 hundred and eight the Johnstown 

 Chapter has been steadily growing. 

 It has become something definite with 

 a definite purpose. However, it is as 

 yet too new an organization to be fully 

 appreciated by many here in the High 

 School. Those who have joined are 

 very enthusiastic. 



Our Chapter is divided into two divi- 

 sions. The boys, the first division, 

 meet every other Saturday morning 

 from ten to eleven o'clock ; the girls, 

 the second division, meet every other 

 Wednesday afternoon from half past 

 three to half past four. 1 personally 

 do not like this division of the Chapter 

 but it seems impossible to arrange it 

 differently. The divisions work to- 

 gether as nearly as possble. 



The study of the Coleoptera (beetles ) 

 has been taken up systematically and 

 quite a number of the more common 

 species have been discussed at length. 

 These insects have been studied from 

 collections made by Carl (dock ami 

 \lberl Walters during last June, July 

 and August. Over twelve different 

 families and several genera of each 

 family are represented in these collec- 

 tions. In the study we used almost 

 entirely Prof. Comstock's book, "Man- 

 ual for the Study of tnsects." 



At several meetings some of the low- 

 est types of animals were studied 

 through the microscope. The Para- 

 maecium and Rotifer vulgaris were par- 

 ticularlv dwelt upon. The material 



for this study was gathered by Philip 

 \ Voile. 



We are looking forward into a 

 bright future. As we progress with 

 our studies new fields of interest are 

 opened before us, fields in which work 

 and play are wonderfully combined, 

 and the little knowledge which we gain 

 we feel is Avell worth wdiile. 



Philip WoLLE, Secretary. 



LOCAL RAIN CAUSED BY TREES. 



FROM GEO. W. WAV. MOUTH, PRESIDENT 



FRIENDS' ACADEMY CHAPTER, NO. IOl6, 



OF THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION, LOCUST 



VALLEY, NEW YORK. 



A few days ago I was walking alone 

 in a held in the neighborhood of a 

 duck pond surrounded by tall trees, 

 when I saw a strange sight, strange 

 to me for I have never noticed it before. 

 To all appearances it was raining on 

 the pond but not outside. It had 

 rained hard all over this section during 

 the morning and now in the afternoon 

 there was a heavy fog. I thought it 

 might be the rain water falling off the 

 trees but on looking at a fence a little 

 way off I saw I was mistaken, for no 

 water fell from it like it did hom the 

 trees. After thinking a Utile while I 

 found out the cause of its raining on 

 the pond in a fog and not on the land. 

 The trees being cooled by the morning 

 rain were colder than the atmosphere and 

 condensed the water of the atmosphere 

 so that it fell as rain. I have just men- 

 tioned this because it seemed so 

 strange to me. 



This was a very sharp observer and 

 it will take an equally sharp one to 

 elucidate the phenomenon. I know 

 of no theory that will be satisfactory. 



The first question is "Did it seem to 

 be raining over the whole pond, or 

 only around the edges under the trees? 

 If there was no wind then the cooling 

 of the foggy air by the cold trees might 

 produce raindrops, but they would fall 

 only beneath the trees and not on the 

 middle of the pond. If there was a 

 wind, which is rare in such a fog, then 

 drops formed near the tops of the trees 

 could fall in the center of the pond. 



